Tag: 2024 hall of fame game

Texans RB Cam Akers proves there’s something left in the tank during Hall of Fame game

While the Houston Texans lost on Thursday night, Cam Akers’ stock won big in Canton, Ohio.

A simple play was enough to get the sidelines talking in Canton, Ohio on Thursday night and it perhaps caught more than the attention of Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.

During the second quarter of the Hall of Fame game, veteran quarterback Case Keenum took a botched snap and looked for his nearest target. Cam Akers waited in the flats to take whatever was flung his way.

From there, Akers had a choice: win with power or elusiveness. He chose the latter, spinning inside to make a pair of Chicago Bears defenders miss while picking a gain of 14.

Social media was in a blaze. Stroud, the Texans’ franchise quarterback, was ecstatic on the sideline, hyping up his running back to keep a good thing going on the drive.

He did. Akers found the end zone three plays later on a 4-yard pass from Keenum to extend Houston’s lead to 10. And while the Texans fell short in a 21-17 loss against Chicago to kick off the preseason, Akers didn’t.

He was the Texans’ biggest winner.

“Cam made a couple of nice plays that everybody saw, the plays that Cam made running the football and also with the receiving touchdown,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Cam has a very savvy way of slipping off of tacklers, making plays so I like where Cam was tonight and he showed some playmaking ability, which he has shown in the past.”

A former 2020 second-round pick, Akers finished with 31 yards of offense on eight touches and scored a touchdown. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry and picked three first downs.

When healthy, Akers has been a sturdy option on the ground for the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Of course, health has been a significant issue, given that he’s torn his Achilles twice since being drafted out of Florida State.

The Texans knew when they signed him to a one-year deal this offseason. Through two weeks of practice, Akers seems to have left the injury bug in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

“I’ve been doing that since I’ve been training with these guys, reminding myself, ‘You’re still you. You still have the same abilities after two Achilles injuries,’” Akers said. “And tonight, I think it showed. It came full circle, and I want to keep doing it. I don’t want it to be a one-time thing.”

Houston, which struggled to move the ball on the ground last season behind Stroud’s offensive showcase, tried to elevate its ground game this offseason by trading for Joe Mixon and drafting Jahwar Jordan.

The Texans also see potential in third-year running back Dameon Pierce, who didn’t play on Thursday night to make room for others.

But Akers, who elected to sign with Houston over Minnesota, might factor into the equation in the running back room. He wanted to be a Texan after training this offseason in Houston. He believes there’s a foundation strong enough to win more than a division title.

“I feel like I was just walking into a winning team,” Akers said. “I just want to keep it going and do my part to keep us winning, whether it’s motivating, making plays, whatever I got to do. I just want to be that guy.”

The Texans will practice for three days in Cleveland before traveling to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers next Friday night.

Texans will play Bears in Hall of Fame Game

The Houston Texans will kickoff the NFL year with a preseason match against the Chicago Bears before the induction of Andre Johnson.

The Houston Texans will kick off the 2024 season in Canton, Ohio, for the annual Hall of Fame Game, the NFL announced Tuesday. Houston will play the Chicago Bears in the first preseason game of the new year on Aug. 1 at 8 p.m.

This game has significance to both teams with new Hall of Famers. Andre Johnson became the first player in Texans franchise history to be named to the Hall of Fame, while former Bears players Devin Hester, Steve McMichael and Julius Peppers will also be inducted.

The rest of the 2024 class includes Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar and Patrick Willis.

“It’s exciting playing in the Hall of Fame Game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans told KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson at the NFL owners meetings. “I think the credit goes to Andre Johnson for him getting selected, the first Texan to be selected to into the Hall of Fame. For us to go up as a team to support Andre in the Hall of Fame Game, the first time as an organization playing in the Hall of Fame Game, I think it’s exciting to really kick off the 2024 season with our team being in the forefront.”

Houston has played in the Hall of Fame Game before, but not since 2002. The Texans played in the exhibition ahead of their inaugural season. It’s a full circle experience now that the Texans’ second-ever first-round pick will be enshrined.

It also kicks off a year of hype for the Texans, who are being lauded for their offseason moves as possible contenders in the AFC.