INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Before one of the biggest games of the regular season for the Houston Texans, with playoff implications on the line.
Offensive lineman Tytus Howard, the second-longest-tenured player on the team behind kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn with seven years of service, stood in the middle of the final team huddle and made sure that every one of his teammates knew that if they executed their assignments against the Los Angeles Chargers, they would leave SoFi Stadium with a victory and something they had been striving for since their 0-3 start to the season.
Howard’s words were impactful as the Texans left SoFi Stadium with a 20-16 win over the Chargers and a ticket to the postseason.
“It meant a lot,” said Howard about his pregame speech on the field. “I told the guys that we came here for one thing only, and that was to get the ‘Dub’ (Win). It didn’t matter what we had to do to get the ‘Dub,’ we got to do it. I told the guys before the game, ‘What are you going to do to help secure this win? How are you going to contribute?’
“I told everybody that before the first snap and by the end of the game you are going to feel great because you knew that you did your job and your part to win, and I feel like everybody did that today and we were able to come out with a win.”
While many of his teammates were locked into Howard’s passionate and powerful speech, he was also speaking to himself, knowing the task at hand wouldn’t be easy for him or his position group.
Houston faced the same issue at SoFi Stadium on Saturday as it did in its season opener against the Los Angeles Rams: having to rearrange the offensive line due to injuries. With offensive tackles Trent Brown (knee and ankle) and rookie Aireontae Ersery (hand) ruled out of the game, the Texans moved Howard from left guard to right tackle, inserted Jarrett Patterson into his spot, and added Blake Fisher at left tackle.
It was not the offensive line Houston had envisioned, especially with such limited time and continuity with quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Still, it was all that offensive line coach Cole Popovich and offensive coordinator Nick Caley could do on short notice, and it worked.
Stroud had enough time on the first two series to find rookie wide receivers Jayden Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown and Jaylin Noel for a 43-yard score, putting the Texans up 14-0 early against the Chargers and setting the tone from the offensive line, which kept Stroud upright the entire game by not giving up any sacks for the second consecutive week.
“With the big plays to start the game, it was just really great execution, starting with the O-line,” said Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans after the game. “We got to show up for some guys up front with the offensive line. It starts with having great protection.
“Our guys did a great job there. C.J. [Stroud] had outstanding throws right to both rookies. Stepping up, making extremely big plays for us to really give us that fast start, get us going with some excellent momentum. Those really were two plays that helped us to be in the position we were in.”
Houston’s offense cooled off after starting the game so hot as the Chargers’ defense began throwing different looks at the offensive line, with their linebackers and safeties playing closer to the line of scrimmage to try to put more pressure on Stroud, but Howard’s unit consistently withstood the onslaught of defenders and did precisely what was expected of them.
“We knew that when the battle came down to the end, the battle was going to have to be won in the trenches,” Howard said about handling the pressure. The offensive line was going to have to be able to block, run the ball, and end the game.
“Whoever we put out there, you got to do your job. We got great coaches, that are going to put us in some great positions, we just have to handle it.”