O.J. Howard on Texans’ offensive identity: ‘ We want to be physical’

The Houston Texans’ offense has been sluggish all year, but not for lack of effort to fix their sundry issues in both the rushing and passing games. The unquestionable leader of the offense has been an unlikely star, rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who has been the team’s top contributor since week 1.

Tight end O.J. Howard commented on the team’s struggle to move the ball on Monday after their brutal Week 8 loss at the hands of the Tennessee Titans. Establishing the run, Howard said, was the team’s primary focus, and will lead to more openings in the passing game in the coming weeks.

“I think it starts with the running game,” Howard explained of the offense’s identity. “We want to be physical. We’re a running football team. We’ve got great running backs. I think when you can get that going it allows the passing game to open up. When you can’t get it going, that’s what hurts the passing game. I think when we establish our dominance in the run game, everything goes and it allows us to open up and we can probably run more three tight end sets and get the pass going a little more. It starts with the running game at first.”

While his words won’t go far without some game planning to back them up, Howard’s assertion that the team lives and dies by the production they get from their running backs is well-founded. Certainly, when the Texans’ offense becomes one-dimensional their success is tied to the abilities of quarterback Davis Mills, who has been serviceable as a bridge starter but will likely be relegated to a backup role after this season.

A challenging matchup against the NFL’s only undefeated team looms on the horizon for Houston, and with Thursday fast approaching, the Texans will need to figure out some kind of wrinkle that will free up the running game in primetime. If they can’t, expect a blowout against the Philadelphia Eagles.