HOUSTON -- C.J. Stroud's assessment of the Houston Texans' offense in their 14-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the season opener Sunday was a reminder to issues that plagued them last season: "A good wake-up call."
The debut of new offensive coordinator Nick Caley was underwhelming. Houston punched in zero touchdowns -- something that only occurred once last season (a Christmas Day loss against the Baltimore Ravens) -- and netted zero points in the second half.
Houston was missing two starters in right guard Ed Ingram (abdominal) and wideout Christian Kirk (hamstring), and that caused some musical chairs in the lineup. Still, that doesn't excuse the limited scoring.
The changes included: New scheme. Revamped offensive line featuring four new starters. New receivers in rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel along with veterans Justin Watson and Kirk.
But in Week 1, the Texans had similar issues -- multiple pre-snap penalties (five), Stroud being pressured on 41% of his dropbacks (according to Next Gen Stats) and Stroud being hit seven times.
After being sacked the second most in the NFL last season (52 times), Stroud was sacked at essentially the same clip in the opener -- three times. A pain point for coach DeMeco Ryans in the offseason.
"We didn't deserve to win that game because we didn't do the right things," Stroud said. "When you come out in the NFL lollygagging and going through the motions, that'll kind of happen. We'll be all right."
The Texans elected to shuffle the offensive line with Ingram out. Instead of plugging backup guard Juice Scruggs in, right tackle Tytus Howard replaced Ingram, and Cam Robinson started at left tackle. And even though rookie Aireontae Ersery had played mainly left tackle since early August, he switched to right tackle.
And the injury-led shuffling didn't stop there.
During the third quarter Robinson left the game for a few plays. That led to Blake Fisher entering at right tackle, pushing Ersery back to left tackle for a few plays before Robinson was cleared. Within those few plays, Fisher was flagged for a 15-yard facemask penalty on second down when Houston was at the Rams' 48-yard line -- effectively ending a potential scoring drive for the Texans.
Ryans chalked the approach to being the "nature of the league."
"Our offensive line was our offensive line," Ryans said. "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. Guys go down, you have to move guys around, and we don't complain about it. You show up and just get your job done."
Overall the results were clunky, with Stroud noting that "it's not easy" with four new people playing together along the line, but there were still some positives amidst the musical chairs.
Stroud excelled when facing heat, going 9-for-10 for 102 yards with a passer rating of 109 -- including 30 scramble yards, and running back Nick Chubb was effective on the ground, rushing for 60 yards on 13 carries (4.6 yard per carry) -- something he only did once last season.
In the first half, Houston was able to end three drives with a field goal and didn't turn the ball over, but in the second half, it went scoreless with backbreaking turnovers. Stroud threw an interception while targeting Higgins, and running back Dare Ogunbowale had a costly fumble on Houston's last possession.
"We had some really successful drives. We just have to end in the end zone," Ryans said. "We got the ball. We got a chance to drive down and score. We're making progress. The main thing throughout the week of what it's going to take for us to win this game, it was protecting the football. They took the ball away two times and took it at the most critical time of the game as we were driving down to score. ... They made the play, credit to the Rams."
The Rams were also able to limit Pro Bowl wideout Nico Collins, who finished with three catches for 25 yards.
"Long season, long game, they did the thing over there," Collins said. "It's the first day out, man. I ain't tripping about them numbers, first time getting back out there as a team."
The Texans will now turn their attention to Week 2, where they will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) on "Monday Night Football" (7 p.m. ET, ABC, ESPN). Stroud still has faith in his guys, but he knows there's work to be done before they play under the prime-time lights.
"I love the confidence we have," Stroud said. "But there's always a type of mindset, like, 'did I do enough?' I think it's a healthy takeaway ... because then you'll probably try to do more.
"I have to do a better job of preparing. I also have to hold my guys accountable."