Was the Change on the Offensive Line Worth It?

The Texans made a shift along the line to improve blocking but did it work?

The Houston Texans made a change along their offensive line against the Detroit Lions. The much-maligned and struggling group saw a shakeup of two new starters. Jarrett Patterson was inserted at center while starting center Juice Scruggs shifted to left guard to replace the injured Kenyon Green.

The results didn’t improve the offensive line drastically.

While the Texans struggled with pass blocking, they had seemingly always found a stretch of the game where they could block for the rushing attack. Joe Mixon had rushed for over 100 yards in every game he started and finished before the game against Detroit.

This new line configuration only slightly improved the pass blocking while demolishing the rushing attack. Mixon averaged 1.8 yards per carry totaling just 46 yards on 25 carries. Nothing looked easy for the veteran running back who was constantly met in the backfield.

The pass blocking, though better, was still poor.