Tag: Joe Mixon

Texans Wire Player of the Game: RB Joe Mixon

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon put up a hat trick during Monday Night Football’s showdown against the Dallas Cowboys.

When the Houston Texans traded for Joe Mixon this offseason, many figured he’d be around for a one-year deal.

When the Texans inked him to a new three-year extension, there were some concerns. Most running backs dwindle with age, leading to regression in carries and explosive runs.

That memo hasn’t reached Mixon entering mid-November down off NRG Drive.

Mixon scored three touchdowns in a 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football” at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. He finished 109 rushing yards and averaged 5.5 yards per play.

“Joe, when he’s on, he’s a force for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “The run game starts with our offensive line. I challenged them to play fast, play aggressive. I thought they did a really nice job. I really like the way we just kept churning it in the run game, and proud of the guys for stepping up to the challenge.”

After Nico Collins’ 78-yard touchdown reception was called back on the opening play, Houston trusted its ground game. Mixon broke free for a 45-yard score, his second-longest run of the regular season to give the Texans an early 7-0 lead.

He also scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Mixon, who finished 109 rushing yards, tied a Texans single-game record for rushing touchdowns, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

“I think everybody was dialed in on the game plan, and we came out here and executed for four quarters,” Mixon said. “It was a great thing to see the O-line pretty much go out there and impose their will.”

The Texans also showed promise on the offensive line. C.J. Stroud completed 67.7% of his passes for 257 yards and an interception. He also was only sacked once and pressured three times.

But Mixon scored the points, so he’s Week 11’s Player of the Week for Texans Wire. This marks the third time he’s taken home the title after putting up a league-leading 159 yards in Week 1 and 115 yards in Week 7.

The Texans return to NRG Stadium to take on the Tennessee Titans this Sunday at noon CT.

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon gets hat trick in victory over Cowboys

Joe Mixon pile drives it in for his third touchdown of the night as the Houston Texans improve to 7-4 on the regular season.

Take a bow, Joe Mixon.

It’s not every day you get the trifecta.

Mixon, perhaps the league’s most underrated extension of the offseason, cemented a Pro Bowl-esque night after securing a 4-yard touchdown run for his third score of the night as the Houston Texans secured a 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Houston’s offense has struggled to compete in the second half of games since Week 6. Entering Monday’s game, the Texans had gone eight quarters without scoring a touchdown in the second half.

Even though the Texans didn’t score in the third quarter, Derek Barnett ended the drought with a 28-yard scoop-and-score on a strip sack against Cooper Rush. Mixon sealed off the scoring to give Houston 14 points over the final 15 minutes.

The Texans improve to 7-4 on the regular season and secure their first victory since Week 8. Mixon, who finished with 109 rushing yards, averaged 5.5 yards per run and three scores.

Houston also picked up its first win on ‘Monday Night Football’ since 2018. Even though C.J. Stroud is the head of Houston, Mixon has been the face of the offense.

There are no off days for Joe. He’s always mixing it on.

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon doubles up on TD vs. Cowboys

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon scored his second touchdown of the opening quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.

In less than 15 minutes, Joe Mixon has found the end zone twice.

Mixon nearly scored on the play before but bounced outside after the inside handoff for the 1-yard touchdown run. The best player has both of the Houston Texans’ touchdowns to start the game.

In eight games, Mixon has scored multiple touchdowns in three of them. Mixon now has nine rushing touchdowns this season, matching his total from a year ago with Cincinnati.

Mixon’s career-high for rushing touchdowns is 13, set in 2021. Houston’s running back is seeking to become the first Texan to rush for over 1,000 yards since Carlos Hyde in 2019, also the last season Houston played on Monday night.

Houston held a double-digit lead a week ago against the Lions, before losing on a last-second field goal.

Mixon has 62 yards on seven carries. Tank Dell got involved with a 26-yard reception.

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon continues Pro Bowl season with epic TD run vs. Cowboys

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon scored his longest touchdown of the season on the opening drive against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Houston Texans scored two touchdowns on the opening drive at AT&T Stadium, but only one counted.

Running back Joe Mixon continued his strong start to his first season with the Texans and broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run.

Houston scored on its opening play, looking to get Nico Collins involved early. Collins returned from a five-game hiatus due to a hamstring injury. He took a screen pass to the end zone, but Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil was downfield, so the play was brought back.

The 45-yard touchdown run is Mixon’s longest score of the season and the second-longest run of the year. The former Pro Bowler had a 50-plus-yard run against the New England Patriots in his first game back from an ankle injury.

After the penalty brought back the touchdown, C.J. Stroud completed passes to Dalton Schultz, Robert Woods and John Metchie III.

The Texans are losing to end a two-game losing streak on primetime.

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon keeps up monster season with another TD vs. Lions

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon is well on his way to an All-Pro season with another scoring drive on primetime.

(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)

Death, taxes, and Joe Mixon finding the end zone are the only three things Houston Texans fans have come to know are inevitable in 2024.

Without Nico Collins, the Texans continue to emphasize the importance of the ground game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football. After four underwhelming runs following a Jimmie Ward interception, Mixon broke to the outside for an 8-yard touchdown run.

The score marks Mixon’s fifth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown and eighth score of the regular season. C.J. Stroud evaded a pair of sacks and connected with Tank Dell and John Metchie III for first-down gains.

Here’s a look at the play below.

The Texans often talk about unsung heroes throughout a regular season. Mixon doesn’t score without receiver Robert Woods setting up a screen block against Lions defensive back Brian Brach, who was in pursuit of meeting Mixon behind the line for a loss of yards.

Mixon, who’s averaging 4.8 yards per run, could make history on Sunday night entering the midway point of the regular season.

With 100 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Lions, the former Bengals Pro Bowler would become the third player in NFL  history to rush for 100 yards and a touchdown in six of their first seven games of a season.

He’s already got the score. Now, he needs 98 yards.

Texans RB Joe Mixon receives promotion following hot start

Joe Mixon has been named a team captain for the Houston Texans for the remainder of the season.

Joe Mixon is getting promoted.

The Houston Texans have named the Pro Bowl running a team captain for the remainder of the season. Mixon will replace Stefon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 8’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s a blessing,” Mixon said Friday. “I’m very grateful.”

If anyone has proven their value as a captain, it’s Mixon. Off the field, he’s been called a leader who wants perfection in every minor detail. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud mentioned Mixon’s attentiveness to the play and willingness to call players and coaches if they’re underperforming.

“That is what you want because at the end of the day. We all came here for one common goal and that is to win,” Stroud said. “If that is hurting somebody’s feelings, we are grown men, we get paid to do this. So, you have to be able to understand it, take it for love because he really just cares about the game, and he cares about this team and his coaches.

“I love Joe.”

On the field, Mixon remains the definition of consistency. Since returning from an ankle injury suffered in Week 2, he’s rushed for over 100 yards in each contest and scored at least one touchdown.

Since being traded to Houston this offseason, Mixon has averaged 4.8 yards per attempt and 101.5 yards per game. He’s scored six touchdowns on 126 rushing attempts.

“He very much exemplifies what we believe, as far as a Texans mindset,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “He plays fast, he is physical, he is tough, and you make sure you know it and you see it. Every time he touches a rock, and every time he does out in practice, how he approaches the meetings. He goes about it the way everyone in the Texans organization should go about it.”

Mixon will debut as the Texans’ newest captain this Sunday Night when the AFC South leaders welcome the Detroit Lions to NRG Stadium. The game will be nationally televised on NBC.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

Quinnen Williams was the dark cloud over C.J. Stroud, Jets defeat Texans 21-13

Quinnen Williams was the dark cloud over C.J. Stroud, Jets defeat Texans 21-13

New York Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams had his imprints written all over his team’s victory on Thursday night. With the Houston Texans frequently in plus territory, Williams and Jets defense unleashed everything they had in the tank to keep quarterback C.J Stroud out of he end-zone.

Stroud had a dismal night trying to attack the No. 2 pass defense in the NFL. Through 30 attempts, Stroud completed just 11 passes for 191 passing yards, and he was sacked eight tines.

With muddy looks for Stroud, Williams did his diligence in the pass rush, tallying 1.5 of those eight sacks on the night. Williams’ pressure and strip sack stopped a promising Texans scoring drive in the first half, setting the tone for relentlessness on defense the entire evening.

While the Jets did allowed running back Joe Mixon to get off, their ability to stall the Texans drives turned out to be a crucial component needed to help them stop their losing streak in front of their home crowd.

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Why is former Bengals RB Joe Mixon so much better on Texans?

What’s going on with Joe Mixon?

Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon is one of the hottest topics around the fanbase right now.

That just goes to show where the Bengals are right now as a team under .500 with slim hopes for the rest of the season.

But it also speaks to how beloved Mixon was as a player while in Cincinnati and how controversial letting him go in the first place was.

 

The details

Mixon is arguably having the best year of his career over just six games in Houston so far. He’s averaged 4.8 yards per carry (4.9 is his career high) and scored six times (13 is his career high). He’s gained 609 yards, easily putting him in position to surpass his career-high of 1,205 from 2021. Along the way, he’s looked quicker and made more guys miss than he ever did in Cincinnati.

 

The offense

No doubt the Bengals did right by Mixon when they traded him to an offense that fits his skill set. The zone look gets him so many more chances to run free than what the Bengals put out there for him. With additional space, he’s been able to go to work at making guys miss. By comparison, the offense the Bengals want to run just isn’t as effective inside. They want more explosive runs and want to be under center more, but also want versatile backs who can pass protect well and go out as a receiver.

 

Mixon himself

We can only speculate, but Mixon looks trimmer this year, which probably doesn’t hurt in the burst department. And getting dealt while approaching the age of 30 probably had a pretty good motivating factor on him, too.

 

Hindsight is…

…complicated. The Bengals wanted good pass protection and versatile backs. They also didn’t want to pay a $9.5 million cap hit on Mixon this year and $10.5 million in 2026. They couldn’t or wouldn’t overhaul the run scheme to fit his talent. Now that the current backs are struggling despite Joe Burrow’s elite season, it’s pretty clear the interior of the line and Zac Taylor’s scheme are an issue. Mixon, meanwhile, will continue to feast and serve as a reminder that, maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the biggest problem for the Bengals offense. There’s still time for the coaching staff to adjust and get a spark going, but that’s where things stand now.

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Texans RB Joe Mixon makes history in loss to Jets on primetime

Houston Texans star Joe Mixon joined an elite group of tailbacks Sunday with his outing against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.

In terrible losses, one must celebrate the little victories.

The Houston Texans can rejoice knowing that Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon was worth trading for this offseason after missing out on several high-profile options in free agency.

They can rest easy knowing that locking him up on a three-year, $27 million back in March was wise. That asking price would be astronomical if the two sides waited to negotiate midseason.

Mixon surpassed 100 yards for the fifth time this season in a 21-13 loss against the New York Jets, joining Jim Brown (1958), O.J. Simpson (1975), Emmitt Smith (1995) and DeMarco Murray (2014) as the only players in NFL history to record 100 yards and a touchdown in five of the first six games of the season.

The 2021 Pro Bowler finished with 108 yards on 24 carries and scored a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give Houston a lead entering halftime.

“Joe has been great every game for us. I mean, every game Joe has touched the ball, he’s gotten over 100 yards and also Joe is going to find it, no matter how well it’s blocked or how not so well it’s blocked, Joe’s going to find his yards,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Finds a way to get in the end zone. Joe’s relentless. He has that sense of urgency. We just need everybody else around him to play the same way.”

Mixon has a case for being a top-three runner in the league at the halfway point of the regular season. He’s only hit under the triple-digit marker once when healthy, which might have changed in Week 2 if the former Bengals star hadn’t left in the third quarter with an ankle injury that sidelined him for three games.

While he’s only played six games, Mixon enters the weekend top-five in rushing with 609 yards. His six touchdowns rank sixth-most among runners and he’s only four scores from the league lead.

Consistency has been Mixon’s best attribute this season. Even with a 50-yard outing against the Chicago Bears, he ranks third among runners in rushing yards per game (101.0) and fifth in explosive runs.

The Texans will need Mixon to continue that consistency when they return home to face off against the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football next week.

Watch: Texans RB Joe Mixon scores touchdown vs. Jets

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon found the end zone for the seventh time this season, capping off a 14-play, 98-yard drive.

On a drive that started at the New York Jets‘ two-yard-line, the Houston Texans marched 98 yards to score the game’s opening points.

Texans running back Joe Mixon was the star of the drive and he capped it off with a three-yard touchdown run.

Mixon totaled nine carries for 44 yards on the 14-play, 98-yard drive that ran 8:23 off the clock. For the game, Mixon has 85 yards on 15 carries. He has seven touchdowns this season.

Kendrick Green replaced Kenyon Green, who left with a shoulder injury, at left guard at the start of the drive. Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 3-of-4 passes for 51 yards, with the longest being a 32-yard connection with Robert Woods along the sideline.

Stroud also scrambled twice for 16 yards. He hooked up with Tank Dell for a 14-yard gain to convert a 3rd-and-12 to keep the drive alive.

Mixon is 15 yards away from his fifth 100-yard game of the season. He has crossed the century mark in each game he’s fully played. Mixon had just one 100-yard game in 17 contests with the Bengals last season.

The Jets will start the third quarter on offense.