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HOUSTON, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 20: Woody Marks #27 of the Houston Texans runs the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
As discussed in last week’s post/poll/podcast, the Houston Texans offensive scheme lives and dies on the run game. It’s hard not to wonder what 2025 would have been like if Joe Mixon hadn’t been disappeared and the offensive line would have been less… offensive.
Based on the sights, sounds and stories that dropped from recent OTA’s and minicamps, the run game in 2026 is going to gain a lot more ground. With new faces in new places and a fire not seen in years, it sure looks like some mouths are gonna get smashed by the 2025 Houston Texans run game.
David Montgomery, Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan
Last season’s offense was initially built to see Joe Mixon plow through opposing defenses, with Woody Marks spelling him on occasion. When Mixon turned from reality to myth, Marks stepped up and rushed for 703 yards and 2 touchdowns with a 3.6 yard per carry average. Definitely a step back from Mixon’s 1016 yards and 4.1 yards per carry from 2024. But for a rookie backup, Marks did a respectable job.
When Marks needed a breather, Jawhar Jordan stepped up and rushed for 193 yards across 4 games, with a 4.5 yard per carry average. 101 of those yards came in his debut against the Arizona Cardinals, where Jordan’s contributions were key to the 40-20 Texans victory.
All this behind a patchwork offensive line that couldn’t seem to ever really get going in a newly installed offensive scheme that seemed riddled with confusion and mis-communication. Aside from the Cardinals game, a full 60 minutes of pro level offense wasn’t found in any single outing last year. At times, it was so poor that even the historically great defense couldn’t keep the Texans ship from sinking. And things like “worst red zone offense in football” aren’t said about championship teams. While a lot of folks like to over-simplify and put it all on C.J. Stroud, the source of the failures run a lot deeper than the face of the franchise.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions saw David Montgomery run for 716 of their 2041 ground yards in 2025 as their #2 back. The current feeling in H-Town has Montgomery as the heir apparent for the long lost Mixon.
Based on what we know so far, Montgomery, Marks and Jordan make an awfully good running back room. That is, if general manager Nick Caserio did a thing by rebuilding the offensive line roster, and coordinator Nick Caley and O-Line coach Cole Popovich can get them working as an NFL caliber unit. Make note that Popovich is also the run game coordinator.
As mentioned last week, it takes time for an O-Line to build chemistry and gel. Each of the linemen need to anticipate the moves of the men on either side of them, while also committing Caley’s playbook to the point of muscle memory. It’s no easy task, but no one ever said NFL play was.
Thankfully, the narrative from OTAs and minicamps surrounding the o-line has changed for the better.
With a renewed fire and energy, expect the Houston Texans schedule in 2026 to have multiple highlight reel run games. While they’re not likely to win them all, and will probably struggle out of the gate, it seems that this offense, and with it C.J. Stroud, should have a much better 2026.
September 13th can’t get here soon enough…
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