Battle Red Blog
Sometimes, trying to put the final pieces together to a championship roster can take the team’s identity into unexpected places. The high flying Kansas City Chiefs offense that led to the rise of Patrick Mahomes ultimately found more championships as a station-to-station offense. The defending champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, excavated their way to the top of the heap focusing less on points and more on defense…and, y’know, a healthy spoonful of Saquon Barkely every single game of the season. In their desperation to just reach the summit, the Buffalo Bills have revamped their highly productive, Josh Allen-led offenses no less than three times. Sometimes, that “last piece to the puzzle” ends up altering the entire perspective of the puzzle itself, and with the amount of turnover that has occurred on the Texans’ offense since September 2024, there’s plenty of new pieces coming in with a chance to shake things up.
Houston’s offensive line is the elephant in the room when discussing changes to the Texans’ roster since 2024, but it doesn’t stop there. The receiving room has absorbed veterans Christian Kirk, Justin Watson, and Braxton Berrios along with rookie draftees Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. In fact, the only two healthy wide receivers currently on the roster who were Texans players in 2024 are Nico Collins and Xavier Hutchinson. These two position groups have been the preseason drama many fans were anticipating, but there’s another position on offense that I’d argue offers even more intrigue: running back.
Current Texans running back Joe Mixon, once a staple on the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense, is still in pro-bowl form and the undaunted starter on this team, but the quality of the depth behind him has exploded in potential after this offseason. Mixon’s backups for his first season in Houston were Dameon Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, and Cam Akers (until he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings midseason), who were serviceable and occasionally excellent in their limited action last year. But in 2025, I believe the additions of Nick Chubb and rookie back Woody Marks can push this position group to the next level, and they could ultimately be the missing puzzle pieces the offense was looking for, vaulting Houston into championship contention.
Although, anticipating a Super Bowl-caliber rushing offense this season is a recipe for disappointment. Despite what my current playthrough of Madden 26 on rookie difficulty would lead you to believe, the Texans offensive line this year will leave much to be desired. With the massive overhaul they’ve undertaken at that position, there is no way the Texans will have taken care of that problem overnight. The running backs may play great in 2025, but their impact will be determined by that enigma of a line in front of them. So, with that being said, what is the floor of this 2025 rushing attack? What is an example of the worst they could do? How about an image:
In the same way that one or...
