Throughout the Houston Texans training camp this past summer, the attention from the fans and media on the Texans’ offensive side of the football was squarely on the space age passing game that GM Nick Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans appeared to be putting together, by adding Stefon Diggs to a wide receiver room that already included Nico Collins and Tank Dell.
It stood to reason that perhaps the improvements to the rushing attack were not getting as much attention, if for no other reason than the Texans’ big acquisition there, former Bengals RB Joe Mixon, was out for most of camp with a quad injury. Meanwhile, Diggs was practicing ferociously every single day.
However, once the regular season arrived this past Sunday in Indianapolis, it was Mixon’s back on which the offense rode to a 29-27 victory to start the season 1-0. Sure, Diggs did some very productive things, specifically two short touchdown catches, but when it came time to close the game out, it was Mixon rushing nine yards on a game clinching 3rd and 3 to end the Colts’ hopes for the day.
Add in the other 29 carries from Mixon, and on the day he had a league-best 159 yards, along with his 50th career touchdown run, which ultimately was good enough for Mixon to take home AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in his first regular season week as a Houston Texan. It’s the fourth time in his career that Mixon has won the award.
Per Texans P.R., Mixon’s 159 rushing yards were the sixth most in NFL history by a player making their debut with a new team. Also, the 159 yard total was the sixth most in franchise history for one game, and second most by a Texan in any Week 1 contest, trailing only Arian Foster’s huge Week 1 against the Colts in 2010. Of his 159 rushing yards, 101 of them came after contact, the second most in the NFL this past week and fourth most by Mixon in his career.
This is the 57th time a Texan has been named Player of the Week, the 20th time an offensive player has claimed the honor, and the sixth time a running back has won the award.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
