The Houston Texans knew that they might have to fill a void at the right guard position in their season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
Ed Ingram, who was dealing with an abdominal issue all week, was questionable to play.
From the team’s perspective, the necessary adjustments would require them to return to an offensive line that had not practiced together since the team traveled to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in August, before their first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.
During the first practice at the Greenbrier Sports Performance Center, left tackle Cam Robinson suffered an undisclosed injury and was sidelined for over two weeks.
Rookie Aireontae Ersery shifted from right tackle to left tackle, which moved Tytus Howard back to his natural position at right tackle and Ingram to right guard.
Before the injury, the lineup that included Robinson failed to adequately protect quarterback C.J. Stroud from the relentless pursuit of the defensive linemen and linebackers, who applied constant pressure on Stroud.
After Robinson was taken out of the lineup, the offense looked more efficient as Stroud consistently had enough time to make plays.
It seemed as if Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley and offensive line coach Cole Popovich might have finally found the right combination to assist with installing the new offense.
However, there was still some uncertainty about what the starting five would look like in Week 1, which caused the media to continually ask about one of the most criticized position groups from last season.
“There’s been questions all offseason about our offensive line,” said Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans during his weekly press conference before the season opener. “Everybody wants to know who’s going out there, who is this guy at this position, that position, it’s just a lot of talk that I’m, quite frankly, tired of talking about it.
“It’s time to go play and let’s see how our five matches up against a really great defensive line and that’s what we’ll see on Sunday. Let’s see how it all plays out.”
However, everything changed on Sunday when Ingram was unable to play. Houston went back to the lineup that struggled against its own defense during training camp, ready to face one of the NFL’s strongest defensive fronts.
Did Ryans panic by not replacing Ingram with third-year offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, who started at right guard last season when former Texans player Shaq Mason went down with a knee injury in Week 16 against the Kansas City Chiefs?
With Scruggs in the lineup, that would leave Ersery and Howard at the tackle positions, providing Stroud with protection on the outside. Instead, Ryans and Caley went with a unit that hadn’t practiced together in over a month, leaving Stroud vulnerable to attacks from the Rams’ strong front seven.
The result was Stroud being pressured on 41.2% of his drop-backs, according to NextGen Stats. It was his 14th game facing a pressure rate of 40% or higher since he entered the league in 2023, which is tied for the most such games in the NFL.
He was sacked three times and never looked comfortable in the pocket, as the offense only managed three Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals.
“Our offensive line was our offensive line,” Ryans said after the game about the pregame changes. “We had five guys we had out there that were up. Injuries, unfortunately, happened throughout the week, so shuffling will take place. That’s the NFL.
“This is the nature of the league. Guys go down, you have to move guys around, and we don’t complain about it. You show up and get your job done.”
Ingram’s return to the lineup remains uncertain, and the Texans need to fix any issues on the offensive line quickly as they host a strong defensive team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at NRG Stadium on Monday night for the Texans’ 2025 home opener.