A simple play was enough to get the sidelines talking in Canton, Ohio on Thursday night and it perhaps caught more than the attention of Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
During the second quarter of the Hall of Fame game, veteran quarterback Case Keenum took a botched snap and looked for his nearest target. Cam Akers waited in the flats to take whatever was flung his way.
From there, Akers had a choice: win with power or elusiveness. He chose the latter, spinning inside to make a pair of Chicago Bears defenders miss while picking a gain of 14.
🌪️🌪️🌪️
📺 » ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/jbdHUWcK24
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 2, 2024
Social media was in a blaze. Stroud, the Texans’ franchise quarterback, was ecstatic on the sideline, hyping up his running back to keep a good thing going on the drive.
He did. Akers found the end zone three plays later on a 4-yard pass from Keenum to extend Houston’s lead to 10. And while the Texans fell short in a 21-17 loss against Chicago to kick off the preseason, Akers didn’t.
He was the Texans’ biggest winner.
“Cam made a couple of nice plays that everybody saw, the plays that Cam made running the football and also with the receiving touchdown,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Cam has a very savvy way of slipping off of tacklers, making plays so I like where Cam was tonight and he showed some playmaking ability, which he has shown in the past.”
A former 2020 second-round pick, Akers finished with 31 yards of offense on eight touches and scored a touchdown. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry and picked three first downs.
Getting the reps in pic.twitter.com/08kU9ay4Vd
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 2, 2024
When healthy, Akers has been a sturdy option on the ground for the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Of course, health has been a significant issue, given that he’s torn his Achilles twice since being drafted out of Florida State.
The Texans knew when they signed him to a one-year deal this offseason. Through two weeks of practice, Akers seems to have left the injury bug in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.
“I’ve been doing that since I’ve been training with these guys, reminding myself, ‘You’re still you. You still have the same abilities after two Achilles injuries,’” Akers said. “And tonight, I think it showed. It came full circle, and I want to keep doing it. I don’t want it to be a one-time thing.”
Houston, which struggled to move the ball on the ground last season behind Stroud’s offensive showcase, tried to elevate its ground game this offseason by trading for Joe Mixon and drafting Jahwar Jordan.
The Texans also see potential in third-year running back Dameon Pierce, who didn’t play on Thursday night to make room for others.
But Akers, who elected to sign with Houston over Minnesota, might factor into the equation in the running back room. He wanted to be a Texan after training this offseason in Houston. He believes there’s a foundation strong enough to win more than a division title.
#Texans running back Cam Akers on his touchdown and comeback from two torn Achilles tendons @thereal_cam3 @DavidMulugheta @AthletesFirst @FSUFootball @justinallen_13 @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/yPT0Virogq
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 2, 2024
“I feel like I was just walking into a winning team,” Akers said. “I just want to keep it going and do my part to keep us winning, whether it’s motivating, making plays, whatever I got to do. I just want to be that guy.”
The Texans will practice for three days in Cleveland before traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers next Friday night.
