‘I’ve been embraced, everything about my identity’: How Texans team captain Joe Mixon leads through words and actions

HOUSTON – Joe Mixon walked inside the Texans’ facility in March after practically being discarded by the Cincinnati Bengals for a mere seventh-round draft pick despite his heavy production and helping to lead them to a Super Bowl.

Instead of the Texans starting the relationship with a wait-and-see, prove-yourself approach, they did something entirely different. They proved how much they believed in Mixon by immediately agreeing to a three-year, $27 million contract extension that included $13 million guaranteed with a $6 million signing bonus and each of the first two years of the pact totally guaranteed.

The Texans’ hefty investment in a punishing and elusive running back has been one of the wisest moves by general manager Nick Caserio, the architect of the defending AFC South champions’ overhauled roster.

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The faith and belief the Texans have shown in Mixon has been justified. Despite missing three games with a sprained ankle, Mixon has rushed for four consecutive 100-yard games with at least one touchdown heading into a high-profile Sunday night showdown on NBC against the 7-1 Detroit Lions. And Mixon was voted a team captain this week for his actions on the field and his words as an outspoken, honest, authentic leader who famously called out teammates and coaches in a constructive manner this week to underscore the importance of these moments and to not let a once-promising season slip away.

“Since stepping in the building, I’ve just been embraced,” Mixon told KPRC 2 this week at NRG Stadium. “Honestly, in the beginning, it was very overwhelming. Obviously, it’s unfortunate I had to move on, but the way these fans, players and everybody inside the building the way they embraced me, it was everything. It was everything about my identify as a player, as a person. I think it fits everything they’re building here.

“I believe that’s the reason I landed here. My biggest thing is to do whatever I can. It’s only right for me to do whatever is in me to give back to the team for taking a chance on a 28-year-old running back. Obviously, you have narratives about those type of guys. I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the spectrum of guys that are trending in a great direction.”

Mixon is the fifth running back in NFL history to rush for 100 yards and a touchdown in five of their first six games of a season as he joined Jim Brown (1958), O.J. Simpson (1975, Emmitt Smith (1995) and DeMarco Murray (2014). With his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, Mixon became the first player to hit that benchmark since Derrick Henry in 2019. And he joined Arian Foster, the former Texans Pro Bowl runner, as the only players in franchise history to run for 100 yards in four games in a row.

Mixon has been the light for a franchise whose running game was frequently in the dark and hitting roadblocks a year ago as they were repeatedly stonewalled. He’s on pace to become the Texans’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Carlos Hyde in 2019 and is arguably the most talented back on the roster since Arian Foster played here.

“I’m just always playing with a lot of juice, a lot of energy,” Mixon said. “My main thing is I feed off the crowd. I feed off my teammates. You always know yourself. I think I’ve done a great job throughout all these years of finding energy within myself and being able to bring along my teammates and have that same energy. I think that’s infectious. We’ve got to do whatever we can to be able to uplift the lowest teammate and have a high standard.”

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Growing up in California, Mixon always studied the game. Especially the running back. He would watch old videos of Walter Payton and Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson. He would watch modern players like Adrian Peterson, La’Dainian Tomlinson, Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley and David Johnson. It was all being done with a purpose: to incorporate facets of their multidimensional games into his own unique style that blends power and tackle-breaking and contact balance with pure speed, elusiveness and pass-catching skills.

“When I grew up, I used to look at a lot of running backs, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, those were guys who I studied a lot,” Mixon said. “That pretty much was me trying to find one thing. There’s certain things that certain guys do well. I’ve always been able to take something from every person and put that in my toolbox.

“I feel like, in any given situation, whether that’s running, blocking and receiving, shaking somebody, jumping over somebody, running over somebody, honestly, it’s literally just taking things out of people’s tool boxes. I’ve always been blessed with great hands and making people miss. I’ve been able to do that at a high level. I have the understanding remembering who the hell I am. It’s been a hell of a thing. I told my teammates today, ‘You got to remember who the hell you are.’”

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Understanding who Mixon is is defined by more than statistics. It’s built on intangibles, a will to dominate the defense, to loudly proclaim how he’s excelling, to have joy playing the game, to dance in the end zone, as he did against the Indianapolis Colts to start the season.

And, also, how Mixon speaks his mind. That’s what he did in a team meeting Wednesday as he addressed everyone to rally a 6-3 squad that lost its way in an embarrassing 21-13 road loss against the New York Jets. How Mixon approaches football doesn’t surprise quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“Yeah, I expected that,” Stroud said. “Joe, last year when we played them, he had that dawg mentality, and he brought it here. That is something we needed, for sure. One thing I love about Joe, Joe will call you out. Joe will call me out, Joe will call his linemen out, Joe will call coaches out. He doesn’t care.

“Ultimately, that is what you want because at the end of the day we all came here for one common goal and that is to win. If that is hurting somebody’s feelings, we are grown men, we get paid to do this. So, you have to be able to understand it, take it for love because he really just cares about the game, and he cares about this team and his coaches. So, yeah, I love Joe.”

Mixon had a simple, but direct and blunt message for his teammates that it’s time to change the course of the season. Right here, right now for a team that entered this season with ambitions set on a Super Bowl run.

“To be real, that’s a great question because this morning I had a talk with the offense, the whole offense, coaching staff as well and let them know, ‘Man, this is the pivotal point of the season,’” MIxon said. “You get to that halfway point and teams are identifying themselves, what type of team they’re going to be. Like where we are, we’ve been very stagnant. I think it’s a crucial point right now where we need to go all the way up or we can go the opposite way. We already know where we want to head. I think it’s a great opportunity in front of us.

“We take care of business and we’ll be in great shape. This is what you work hard for. We have a chance to be special. I know the guys in this locker room, everyone is on the same page to go put everything together. The sky is the limit for us. As long as we understanding and hone in on the little details and make guys pay for their mistakes, we’ll be in great shape.”

Listening to Mixon was inspirational, according to his teammates and coaches. That included offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks for his playcalling and a lack of pass protection for Stroud, who was sacked a career-high eight times by the Jets. An ill-fated Wildcat trick play where Mixon threw the football incomplete to Stroud has been widely panned.

“Anytime Joe talks, everybody listens,” Slowik said. “He has a track record, you can see it in how he plays, you can see how much he cares, you can see the relationship he has with his fellow teammates. He has been to the big dance before.

“So, his words are really needed for everybody. Just understanding what it takes, how hard it is. Understanding even though sometimes you want to get too high or too low, you can’t. You have to find a way to stay as even keel as you can and everything is one game at a time and everything we can to get into the tournament.”

Mixon has rushed for 609 yards on 126 carries with six touchdowns and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry. He’s on pace for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns despite missing time due to an injury suffered on an illegal hip-drop tackle from Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards.

He’s thinking much bigger than 1,000 yards with eight games remaining in the regular season.

“I think every running back’s goal is the 1,000, that’s the floor,” Mixon said. “I think most running backs’ goals, if you want to be great, it’s that 2K mark. It’s always the goal. That’s forever been the goal for me. Unfortunately, I missed out on three games. But I’m here to get it back on the back end.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to strive for being able to help my teammates obviously by me getting a lot of yards like that. I think we’ll be in great shape. It’s a great thing being able to see accolades, but my teammates do a great job of being unself. That’s the same thing with myself. Nobody is bigger than the team.”

It was emblematic of all of the former Pro Bowl selection’s skills, power, speed and vision as Mixon took a 3rd-and-1 handoff Thursday night and ran for 29 yards. First, Mixon cut out of harm’s way when Jets defensive end Michael Clemons immediately beat left guard Kenyon Green to penetrate the backfield. Then, Mixon bounced outside of Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s block to get away from linebacker Jamien Sherwood.

Once Mixon reached the secondary, he lowered his shoulder pad to run through defensive backs, spinning away from them on contact and dragging tacklers while maintaining his balance. It was an impressive performance as Mixon followed downfield blocks from wide receivers Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson

For the fourth game in a row, Mixon rushed for 100 yards and scored at least one touchdown as he rushed for 106 yards and a score on 24 carries.

“Joe’s been dynamic for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Every time he touches the ball, he’s going to gain some type of positive yardage, and all that credit goes to all the guys blocking upfront. They do a great job blocking it in the run game. We had a lot of lanes available in the run game. Joe runs the ball with that relentless mindset, physical, running guys over, playing the game the right way. He brings a passion, brings an edge to the game that I think everybody can feed off of.”

Since Mixon returned from the ankle injury, he has become even more pivotal to the offense.

He’s indispensable, and the running game sputtered during his absence.

The versatility of Mixon is a huge plus for Slowik’s play-calling.

Mixon has subtlety and aggressiveness working in his favor.

“I just try to look at given situations, sometimes you gonna have to be speed,” Mixon said. “Sometimes, you gonna have to be power. Sometimes, you have to be elusive. I’ve been blessed enough and fortunate enough to do it all. At the end of the day, I just try to do whatever I can within the run scheme and being in sync with our linemen and do whatever I can to make their block right. We take a lot of pride in being on the same page and it’s bene taking us a long way.”

Mixon has shown each of the past four weeks that he’s capable of breakaway runs with a 29-yard run against the Jets, a 32-yard run against the Green Bay Packers as he rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in a road loss and 102 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries with a season-long 59-yard run in a road win over the New England Patriots. He had a 21-yard run against the Colts.

Mixon provides a physical presence at 6-foot-1, 220 pounds. He’s arguably the most talented runner for the Texans since Foster retired.

“Joe has been great every game for us,” Ryans said. “I mean, every game Joe has touched the ball, he’s gotten over 100 yards and also Joe is going to find it, no matter how well it’s blocked or how not so well it’s blocked, Joe’s going to find his yards. Finds a way to get in the end zone. Joe’s relentless. He has that sense of urgency. We just need everybody else around him to play the same way.”

Mixon keeps showing what grown-man football is all about.

And Mixon embraces the responsibility of carrying the offense in whatever capacity needed.

“I feel like I’m in my element, I’m in my zone,” Mixon said. “Honestly, it’s a great feeling to do whatever I can to put the team on my back. I feel like I’ve always been that player physically and mentally and emotionally for my teammates. I’m just glad I was put in a position where I can thrive and be able to uplift my teammates. I do whatever I can to give them their flowers as well. I’m thankful for them.”

To earn the distinction of team captain in the wake of Stefon Diggs’ season-ending knee injury was a moment of honor for Mixon. He’s emotional about the respect that carries. His leadership comes from his role models: his parents.

“It’s a hell of a blessing, man, for your teammates to point you out for being the leader and to be able to lead by example and obviously be there for my teammates and uplift their game and be in this position, it means everything to me,” Mixon said. “The best thing I can really do is up the intensity with everything that I do. Obviously, everything is magnified. You have to hold that accountability toward yourself as well. It’s a blessing and I’m very grateful.

“I found out in a team meeting. DeMeco came in there and was highlighting things he wants to see from us. After that, basically putting up a whole Powerpoint in a meeting and saying, ‘You’ve been doing all the right things, doing everything the right way and we just want to highlight you and make you a team captain.’ I was super surprised, but obviously very grateful and appreciative of the confidence. There’s natural born leaders in this world. To be able to lead, that’s everything.”

Read more on the Texans:

• ‘I believe in Tank, I have all the faith in Tank,’ Texans want to get Tank Dell more involved after zero-catch game
• How ‘everything is on the table’ for Texans after pass protection meltdown, Laremy Tunsil emphasizes bigger picture
• ‘It’s not good enough,’ Texans’ banged-up defense played well, but can’t get one final stop in loss to Packers
• ‘I’m never the bigger person,’ tempers flare between Texans’ Stefon Diggs and Packers, Jaire Alexander
• Best in class: Texans’ C.J. Stroud, Packers’ Jordan Love meet for first time in battle of talented quarterbacks, friends
• ‘I’m ready for the ball,’ Texans corner D’Angelo Ross reflects on first NFL start, ‘challenge’ of Packers’ Jordan Love

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.