In the course of a full NFL season, rare is the team that doesn’t get hit by injuries. In a sport where men are going at high speed carrying incredible mass, there will be collisions, with injuries to follow. Sometimes injuries disrupt the overall season for a team, sometimes not. The better teams in the NFL tend to be those that can avoid suffering high quantities of injuries to key personnel.
Given all of the injuries they suffered, the Houston Texans’ ability to perform so well is remarkable. While the team’s dominant narrative is that they outperformed expectations, their depth has been severely tested. By the end of the season, 19 players were placed on injured reserve. Some of these players were key contributors (WR Tank Dell, OT/OG Tytus Howard, S Jimmie Ward, OG/C Jarret Patterson), while others were depth players (DL Jerry Hughes, S Eric Murray, DB Traverious Thomas). This isn’t even include the non-season-ending injuries that damaged the squad during the season, from the IR stint.
Derek Stingley Jr. was unable to play for many weeks due to injuries sustained at MetLife Field, which also sidelined QB CJ Stroud, WR Nico Collins, and DE Will Anderson near the end of the season.
However, if one injury had a greater influence on the Texans than any other, it came from a player who never saw a down on the field during the 2023 season. That would be the anticipated starting LG, Kenyon Green. The second-year offensive lineman from Texas A&M was seen as a vital member of the offensive line, which not only sought to protect rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, but also to build a running game led by rookie sensation Dameon Pierce.
Houston’s offensive line injuries appeared to begin early, as one-time projected starting center Scott Quessenberry was lost for the year before the season even began. Despite this, Houston intended to enter the season with the following offensive line starters:
Lieutenant Laremy Tunsil.
LG: Kenyon Green.
C: Juice Scruggs.
RG: Kenyon Green.
RT: Tytus Howard.
If you forgot about those estimates, we do not blame you. You never saw it on the field of play. Not in the preseason, and never during the regular season. Perhaps you saw it in Madden, if you were willing to pay the money to play it.
Granted, Green’s injury was not the only one that affected the Texans’ offensive line. Scruggs and Howard both had injuries that kept them out of the lineup for the first four games of the season. Thus began the Texans’ big offensive line shuffle. The rotation of linemen never seemed to stop as the season went. Patterson, who showed promise at center, was placed on injured reserve shortly after Howard and Scruggs were released. Dieter spent some time at right tackle, which did not go well. He played better in the interior, but remained harsh.sledding.
While the Texans eventually found some OT depth to help out Fant and, to a lesser extent, Heck, the guard position that Green was supposed to man was the offense’s Achilles’ heel. The situation at guard became so bad that the Texans resurrected an old project that we thought was dead, buried, and fallen into Hell: transforming Tytus Howard into guard. The big contract extension he received prior to the season was offered to him with the idea that he would man the right tackle position. Nonetheless, the team felt compelled to transfer him to that position due to the depth of guards. It worked for a few games before Howard suffered a season-ending injury.
The squad eventually settled on Juice Scruggs, although the rookie had mixed success. His first game against Cleveland was forgettable, but he rebounded well in the Wild Card Round. Still, the Texans’ weakened offensive interior would be their undoing, as the Baltimore defensive front annihilated them in the Divisional Round. Overall, 17 different players started along the offensive line, with the LG being the most unpredictable (4 total starts, as Josh Jones and Kendrick Green started with Howard and Scruggs).Perhaps it is astonishing how well the line performed at times, despite the injuries and personnel changes. The Texans allowed 11 sacks on Stroud in his first two games. However, Stroud was only sacked 38 times in 15 games (none in the playoffs). He did miss two games due to concussions from sacks, but his pocket movement did not account for the entire decrease in sack rate. Despite the missing bits and sections, the line’s pass protection was fairly reliable.
However, the Texans’ running game left something to be desired. The Texans’ run game suffered as a result of the line’s early troubles, while Dameon Pierce went from rookie phenom to possibly the league’s worst sophomore slump. The run game had its moments under Devin Singletary, whose changing running style seemed to fit better with this offense concept. However, the team ranked 22nd in running yards per game (96.9 yds/game) and tied for 28th in yards per carry (3.7). Houston’s playoff loss to Baltimore resulted in only 38 yards on 14 carries, virtually ruining their chances of winning. Add in the fact that the team couldn’t control the clock with an inept run game, and that would place considerably morestrain on a defense that truly bowed a lot and broke in the losses.
Would Kenyon Green have made a difference? Possibly. While his rookie season provided little evidence, it is possible that he made a significant improvement, similar to his first-round counterpart Derek Stingley Jr. Certainly, line steadiness would have greatly aided the run game, providing much-needed offensive balance. If Green had secured the left guard post, Housarwton could have returned Howard to his natural right tackle position, providing Houston Texanswithout the horrific Dinian season they all experienced.
If Houston wants to take the next step toward title contention, its run game must improve dramatically. A significantly more challenging schedule beckons, and Stroud, while expected to improve, will not be sneaking up on anyone. The club somehow made it through the offensive line shuffle necessitated by Kenyon Green’s injury. In 2024, the focus will be on Green to stay healthy and perform to his full ability, as a shifting offensive line will not help Houston reach its championship objectives.
