The Houston Texans had the highest rushing yards in the NFL with 213 during their Week 1 win over Indianapolis, and their total of 417 yards ranked second.
The Texans are pleased but believe they can do even better as they get ready for their “Sunday Night Football” game against the Chicago Bears.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot of room to grow as an offense,” running back Joe Mixon said. “What we did Sunday, that was just scratching the surface.”
Quarterback C.J. Stroud added, “I definitely think that we barely showed what we’ve got.”
This year, the Texans have a strong running game, led by former Bengals star Mixon, which supports an offense managed by Stroud and featuring new star receiver Stefon Diggs.
Mixon had a career-high 30 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown in his debut with Houston, earning the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Early signs suggest he will provide the Texans with a reliable running back after years of difficulty at that position.
Coach DeMeco Ryans praised Mixon and the running game for their performance on Sunday.
“The most important factor of our success on Sunday obviously was running the football,” Ryans said. “Being able to control the game, that was the biggest thing for us. We haven’t had that in a while.
So, for us to be able to do that, you see how the game flows much better for us when we’re able to line up and run the football.”
For the Bears, their offensive performance in the opener against Tennessee was not memorable. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams completed only 14 of 29 passes for 93 yards, and Chicago did not score a touchdown on offense.
However, the Bears came back from a 17-point deficit to win, thanks to a defensive touchdown and a special teams score.
Williams knows there are many things he wants to improve, but he is encouraged that the team still won despite his difficulties. He is the first No. 1 pick to win his first start since David Carr led Houston to a victory over Dallas in the franchise’s first game in 2002.
