How Texans landed, finally, on an offensive line with ‘our best five guys out there’

INDIANAPOLIS – Breaking the huddle with a handclap, the Texans’ overhauled offensive line jogged to the line of scrimmage last Thursday to square off with the Buffalo Bills’ defense.

It was yet another configuration for a line that has been searching for the right grouping every since trading five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders after a disappointing season collectively.

This iteration of the Texans’ offensive line is arguably its most talented and effective unit that the team has fielded this seasoan. It marked their seventh different starting lineup of the year.

Lining up with rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery, shifting Tytus Howard to his third different starting position of the year at left guard after previous stints at right guard and right tackle, having center Jake Andrews and right guard Ed Ingram at their usual spots and a third consecutive start at right tackle for massive former Pro Bowl selection Trent Brown paid off with immediate dividends.

The Texans, playing backup quarterback Davis Mills with starter C.J. Stroud still in concussion protocol, won their third consecutive game. They allowed zero sacks in a key victory at NRG Stadium over the Bills.

The Texans will keep it rolling with this alignment Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts in a pivotal AFC South showdown at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Getting to this point wasn’t without a lot of stops and starts in between.

“We’ll continue to roll with our offensive line,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. “For me, it’s always been about trying to get our best five guys out there. I think Tytus has done a great job unselfishly moving where he’s played right tackle, right guard, left guard, whatever we’ve asked him, he’s done it. It shows that he’s a smart player to be able to handle as much as we put on his plate. He’s done that and he’s played good for us.”

So did the rest of the line.

Especially Brown, 32, who allowed zero pressures in 21 matchups against accomplished veteran defensive end Joey Bosa. He’s the first offensive lineman to shut out Bosa since 2018. At 6-foot-8, 380 pounds, Brown is one of the biggest offensive linemen in the NFL.

The Texans allowed their lowest pressure rate since the fifth game of the 2023 season, giving up pressures at a 16.1 percent rate, per Next Gen Stats.

Howard is a former first-round draft pick. Ingram is a former Minnesota Vikings second-round draft pick who has revitalized his career with the Texans. Brown has started for five different NFL teams. Ersery is a second-round draft pick from Minnesota named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year last season.

“We’ve got talent,” Howard told KPRC 2. “Everybody can play.”

Because of injury and personnel decisions, including the misstep of having an overwhelmed former New England Patriots starter Sidy Sow start at right guard against the Jacksonville Jaguars before he was benched after nine plays, the offensive line has been in constant flux.

The Texans, when Ingram had an abdomen injury, executed a line shuffle in a season-opening loss against the Los Angeles Rams.

Cam Robinson, since traded to the Cleveland Browns, started at left tackle with Laken Tomlinson at left guard, Andrews at center, Howard at right guard and Ersery shifting to right tackle from his natural left tackle spot. This didn’t work and the Rams’ aggressive front was dominant at times.

A week later, the Texans lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with Jarrett Patterson replacing an injured Andrews at center.

Tomlinson was eventually benched permanently. First, Patterson replaced him. Now, it’s Howard’s job. A former Pro Bowl selection, Tomlinson has a 56.1 overall analytics grade with three sacks and 11 pressures allowed.

The most frequently utilized configuration this season has been Ersery at left tackle, Tomlinson at left guard, Andrews at center, Ingram at right guard and Howard at right tackle.

The Texans first inserted Brown into the lineup. when Howard missed a game against Jacksonville with a concussion. When Howard returned the following week against the Tennessee Titans, he played right guard with Brown at right tackle while Ingram missed the game with a sprained knee.

For Howard, it has been an odyssey of a season.

He was slated to play right guard initially after previously playing right tackle, right guard and left tackle for the Texans. He has played every spot except for center. He jokes that he could even play quarterback in a pinch having played the position in high school and is capable of heaving the football 70 yards, per Mills.

At right tackle primarily this season, Howard has a 79.0 Pro Football Focus pass blocking grade with zero sacks allowed.

“I’m a team-first guy,” Howard said. “Everything I’ve done in my career is for the betterment of the team. I just continue to get better at my craft no matter where I’m at each and every day. I’m just trying to grow as a player, grow as a leader every day. Whatever I can do to help the team win.

“I think the biggest thing for me early on in my career is I had guys around me to listen to. Laremy helped me out a lot in my career. Each and every day teaching me. I think the biggest thing for me is just studying my opponents.”

A year ago, Stroud was in the crosshairs of pass rushers far too frequently. His numbers regressed as he was sacked a career-high 52 times in the regular season. He was sacked 11 more times in the playoffs.

That led to the dismissal of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser and trading Tunsil, primarily moving on from a gifted, albeit penalty-prone blocker primarily for financial reasons. Strausser was replaced by promoting Cole Popovich to head offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

This season, Stroud has only been sacked 17 times, a career-low. Now, he may benefit from the improvement of the line beginning Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts in his first game back from a three-game absence due to a concussion.

“It’s cool to see big Trent out there, Ed coming back, Jake always playing solid and Tytus being an anchor, playing a lot of positions and doing them all very well,” Stroud said. “Then Tae, another rookie who has rose to the occasion and done a really good job these last couple weeks. I’m just proud of that unit and I’m excited to be back with them.”

Popovich has been instrumental in overseeing the watershed changes across the line, praised consistently by Ryans and offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

“Obviously, I have a history with Cole dating back to my time in New England when he was our offensive line coach and I coached the tight ends,” Caley said. “So, I have a really good working relationship and level of trust with Cole. He is a very good football coach.”

It’s a new day in Houston for the offensive line, and a new singular voice leading them in Popovich, a former Patriots offensive line coach mentored by legendary New England assistant coach Dante Scarneccia.

“I think the biggest thing is really just want to have a tough offensive line that plays the game in a way that the whole team can kind of see,” Popovich told KPRC 2 during training camp. “There’s a toughness established from our group there, right? We’re not shying away from any kind of contact. And then, really, the other thing would be just a smart group.

“I don’t want missed assignments. That’s the biggest things. We’re trying to play clean football, trying to eliminate bad football. Play very tough, be assignment-sound, and I think we’ll be okay if we do those things."

Brown needed time to get healthy having torn his patellar tendon last season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Since he was activated from injured reserve, he’s shown he still has something left in the tank.

“The more he’s playing, the better off, in terms of your conditioning levels are going to improve,” Caley said. “But Trent’s an experienced guy that’s played a lot of football and he’s tough. He’ll continue to get better the more that we play. We’ll continue to build cohesion there, too, as well.”

Ingram, acquired in an offseason trade, has a career-high 77.4 overall grade ranking him seventh among NFL guards this season. He has an 81.0 run blocking grade, fifth-best. He’s allowed just one sack all season, ranking 12th in the NFL in 535 snaps at right guard.

The Bills game was significant to Ingram.

“It felt good, just like anytime we have a game where we don’t give up pressures,” Ingram said. “That’s a great game for us. We all play well together,”

Ersery initially dealt with growing pains. He plays the toughest position on the line and has struggled at times in matchups with top pass rushers, including against the Rams’ Byron Young and the Jaguars’ Josh Hines-Allen.

Ersery has improved, though. He allowed no sacks against the Bills and just three pressures. He gave up two sacks against the Titans. He remains a work in progress, with a ton of upside.

“If you go all the way back to (organized team activities) that was being preached that you just never know what’s going to happen amongst the offensive line or at any other position group,” Ersery told KPRC 2. “Even if you were waiting in the wings, you knew you had to be ready. I feel pretty good about the group we got so far. I feel like we are all physically gifted in some type of aspect, little nastiness to the game. We try to put guys in the dirt. We all just want to play hard, play together and make this thing go. We’ve got the right guys to do it.

“I feel like it’s really easy to throw the line under the bus. The defense gets one sack they had a great game. You give up one sack it’s a bad game. We rely on each other, keep that bond tight, talk amongst each other, motivate each other, uplift each other every day.”

That resolve faces a test Sunday against a Colts front that includes emerging defensive end Laiatu Latu, a former first-round draft pick. Latu has 5 1/2 sacks, 30 hurries, 44 pressures and three interceptions.

“Latu has definitely gotten a lot better as a pass rusher, finding a way to be more slippery, finish on a lot of his rushes,” Ryans said. “He’s doing a nice job as a young player, finding his way, finding his craft, how he needs to rush the passer. He’s done a good job.

“Every time we’re protecting against these guys, it’s just about everybody finishing, remaining relentless. They’re going to stay after it as rushers. They do a really nice job. So, we have to outwork them.”

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