HOUSTON – The Texans shook up their offensive line again for a Thursday night game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium.
This latest line shuffle shifted Tytus Howard over to left offensive guard after he played right guard last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Ed Ingram was back in the lineup at right guard after missing two games with a sprained right knee.
Recommended Videos
And Trent Brown started his second consecutive game at right tackle.
The idea behind this configuration is a recurring one: identify the best five blockers.
The change worked during a 23-19 victory, allowing zero sacks and just four hits on quarterback Davis Mills. He threw two touchdown passes. And the Texans rushed for 108 yards on 26 carries, including 74 yards on 16 runs by rookie Woody Marks.
After the game, the entire offensive line, which is coached by Cole Popovich,, received a game ball for their efforts.
“Our offensive line, I wanted to recognize them with a game ball because they did a great job,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We knew we needed to control the line of scrimmage. I thought we ran the ball okay, but most importantly we protected the quarterback. We didn’t allow any sacks on the quarterback. Only allowed one tackle for loss.
“Overall, for that unit to come together and play the way they played on a short week, hats off to those guys. Cole is doing a great with those guys. We got Ed back, moved Tytus over. Still a lot of moving pieces and the guys still played really well together.”
The Texans started rookie Aireontae Ersery at left tackle and Jake Andrews at center.
Mills had plenty of time to operate, and he was happy, even if he appeared stoic as usual in his reactions.
“Yes, I get excited, a lot of times I just don’t show it,” Mills said. “I’m focused on my job in the moment. It’s kind of hard to display all my emotions. Taking zero sacks, I can assure you that my body feels drastically better than it has in some other games and in my football playing history.
“Those guys did a hell of a job tonight protecting and I was able to find people open or get the ball out if I needed to early on. I think our offensive has shown to get better each and every week. I think those guys will keep progressing as we keep going forward.”
Howard’s versatility is huge plus.
He has started at right tackle, right guard and, now, left guard for an overhauled offensive line this season after the team traded five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil during the offseason to the Washington Commanders.
Howard has been a leader for the group, grading out consistently high. He didn’t allow a pressure against the Bills.
“Tytus is a warrior,” Mills said. “Extremely selfless. I’ve been a locker mate with him the last couple years. Great person. Great football player. Whenever he’s on the field he wants to do what’s best for the team. He’s played every single one of those positions at a really high level.
“I don’t know if there’s many other guys that can do what he does. If you asked Tytus he would probably tell you he could play every position on the field, quarterback being one of them. I love Tytus on the team. He’s a great teammate and keeps showing why he means so much to this team and he’s one of the best offensive linemen in the league.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com