HOUSTON – Dameon Pierce is frequently surrounded, boxed into close quarters by defenses stacking the line of scrimmage with bad intentions and a strategy built around a singular purpose.
The standout rookie running back is the Texans’ most dangerous offensive player, and defenses have reacted accordingly as they’ve effectively shut down one of the most punishing runners in the league.
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They regularly line up with an extra defender in the tackle box, leaving Pierce’s blockers outnumbered. Because the Texans have faced some of the top defensive linemen in the NFL in recent weeks, the running game has been completely stonewalled.
It has transformed the identity of one of the most run-first offenses in the league into a team that can’t pass or run the football well at all.
Pierce has rushed for eight yards in each of the last two games, combining for just 16 yards on 15 carries in losses to the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders. Ranked ninth overall in the NFL with 788 rushing yards, the most of any rookie, Pierce is determined to get back to what he was doing previously as one of the most productive backs in the NFL.
“It’s instrumental to our offense,” Pierce said. “The better the run game is the more passing opportunities we have down the field. It just opens everything up. It kind of takes us away from being one-dimensional and makes us more balanced. Getting the running game going is very instrumental to us.”
Texans rookie running back Dameon Pierce @IRep229 @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/XokeAzmtWm
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 1, 2022
A top NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate who has outgained Seattle Seahawks rookie running back Kenneth Walker III (613 yards), Pierce has become something of an afterthought in the offense in the past two weeks as they were outscored by a combined margin of 50-0 against the Dolphins and Commanders in the first half. He had five carries against the Dolphins as the Texans gained just 36 rushing yards and 10 carries against the Commanders as they had a season-low 21 rushing yards.
Three games ago, Pierce rushed for 94 yards on 17 carries in a loss to the New York Giants one week after rushing for a season-high 139 yards on 27 carries against the Philadelphia Eagles.
When asked if he takes it as a compliment that opposing defenses are stacking the line against him, Pierce smiled, nodded and answered affirmatively.
The Texans know they have to alter their approach and they have to do a better job of opening up holes for Pierce.
“It’s important that you present balance on any given play,” Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton said. “The potential of running the football as well as throwing the football so that they don’t have to defend just one thing. Teams that we’ve faced in the previous three or four weeks, they’ve covered up all of our offensive linemen and tried to create one-on-one blocks up front. When that happens, we have to do a really good job just featuring some of the guys that are closer to the line of scrimmage that can run routes downfield.”
What’s happening? Because it’s not as if Pierce has forgotten how to run. The powerful 5-foot-10, 218-pound fourth-round draft pick from Florida has strength, speed and moves in his repertoire.
“I think the coaches are doing a good job getting the game plan ready for the run game this weekend,” right tackle Tytus Howard said. “We’ve got to block them, and I know DP will handle the rest.”
The Cleveland Browns, Sunday’s opponent at NRG Stadium, are allowing 131 rushing yards to rank 23rd in run defense.
“I wish we knew exactly the reason why we haven’t been able to run the football, I’m going to say that more than the decline of Dameon Pierce,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “I think part of why Dameon had success early on is because of what we were doing up front. So, we have to talk about what we’re doing up front right now.
“A lot of the yards he’s gotten have been yards after contact. It’s hard to maintain a certain level throughout an NFL season. We have time to get it right. Hopefully, we’ll see that.”
Pierce is a rugged tackle-breaker who delivered one of the angriest runs of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He has gained 710 yards after contact to rank fourth in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats. He has just 78 yards before contact, which suggests that Pierce is often hit before he can get any momentum going.
Pierce hasn’t pointed any fingers or gotten discouraged. If anything, he has maintained his positive attitude and continually praised his offensive line.
“We have a lot of things we’ve been doing to show a little eye candy, get a little misdirection going to get us going in the run game early,” Pierce said. “It’s a little different this week. They’re more of a four-down team instead of five downs, which is what’s been giving us problems. We need to keep those guys at bay. They’re wonderful athletes. We try to slow them down and we should have a good opportunity to run the ball.”
During a 30-15 loss at Hard Rock Stadium, Pierce had four runs for seven yards at halftime and just one carry in the second half for a yard as the Texans fell behind 30-0 and abandoned the running game.
Defenses are loading the tackle box to account for Pierce, and the strategy is working.
“Oh man, they’re stacking the line,” Pierce said with a laugh. “Putting five down linemen up there: three down linemen, two stand-up defensive ends and just letting the linebackers play the gaps. That’s hard to run against in any system, whatever you are running. That’s something we do, though. That is something we are going to game plan against, something we’re going to get better at. We just have to get used to it up front.
“Obviously, if teams do something good against us, the other teams are going to copy cat and put it in their repertoire and implement that against us. But we just have to start finding counters to the stuff that people are going to do to us, because we’re changing our tendencies. We’re trying to do tendency breakers. We just trying to get a better flow on offense.”
The Texans are facing elite defensive tackles, including the Commanders’ Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne and the Dolphins’ Christian Wilkins.
“It’s single blocks,” Pierce said. “You can’t ask the o-line to block some of the better defenders one-on-one for 70 snaps. They’re going to win some and lose some up front. We should be able to get 600 pounds on some guys and get some movement.”
Despite the talented defensive tackles they’re facing, the Texans have to figure out a way to mitigate those factors and still run the football.
“Defensively, you can always get an extra guy in the box, every snap,” Smith said. “For running football teams, that’s life in the NFL. Yes, there’s been great interior defensive lineman we played most of the year. We’re going to play very good ones this week. Again, we’ve been dealing with that. We have to find a way to still run the football under those circumstances.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com