Joe Mixon must continue his success behind the Houston Texans’ offensive line, but he looks like he’s worth every penny of his three-year, $27 million extension.
Mixon, who joined the Texans after being cut and later traded from the Cincinnati Bengals, was the backbone of Houston’s offense in a 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Running backs are often the afterthought in today’s game due to their lifespan as potent runners.
Sunday looked like Mixon was only heating up entering Year 8 in the pros.
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“When you can run the ball, it opens everything up,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said postgame. “When it comes to the passing game, guys start to — they’ve got to put eight in the box. So now you have a lot of single coverage on the outside, and that’s where Nico (Collins), Tank (Dell), (Stefon) Diggs, they can make their plays.”
In two games against the Colts last season, Houston rushed for 112 yards on 54 attempts. In his first appearance as the Texans’ lead back, Mixon rushed for 159 yards on 30 carries against the Colts on Sunday.
He also had a rushing touchdown and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
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“He was huge,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said of Mixon’s day. “When you can impose your will running the ball, you can open up a whole multitude type of plays for Bobby (Slowik) to call. Honestly, we just kept going to it, and I think it was working.”
It wasn’t just the production. It was the workload. Mixon totaled only 75 percent of the Texans’ rushing totals. His 5.3 average would have been a season-high last year compared to Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary’s underwhelming stat line.
When the Texans needed a play, Mixon delivered. Of his 159 yards, 102 came in the second half. Of Houston’s 11 first down runs, nine came from No. 28.
While Indianapolis won battles with explosive plays through the air, Houston won the war with an emphasis on controlling the tempo. Houston’s offense had the ball for 40 minutes, including 24 minutes in the second half.
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Late in the fourth quarter, Richardson scored a touchdown and Houston needed to play keepaway. On the final drive, Mixon ran it five times, all for positive gains.
His last run — a 9-yard scamper — iced the game with under a minute.
For those reasons, the 2021 Pro Bowl runner is Texans Wire’s Week 1 Player of the Game.
