HOUSTON – Dameon Pierce ran into the equivalent of a brick wall. Its name: Jeffery Simmons, an All-Pro defensive tackle.
Stonewalled at every turn, the Texans’ usually productive rookie running back faced especially tough sledding in the trenches against the Tennessee Titans’ stout run defense.
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Simmons, one of the top young defensive tackles in the league, proved to be a difficult blocking assignment for the overmatched Texans offensive line.
During a 17-10 loss, the Titans’ fourth-ranked run defense bottled up Pierce, a candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, holding him to just 35 yards on 15 carries for his lowest output since a 33-yard game in a season-opening tie against the Indianapolis Colts.
Between Simmons (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) and Teair Tart (6-2, 305), the Texans didn’t have success stopping them from penetrating the backfield on a regular basis. That halted the Texans’ running game, limiting them to 43 rushing yards on 16 carries for an average of 2.4 per run
“Oh wow 93 and 98, they had a day, man,” Pierce siad. “They was very destructive upfront. They threw our timing off with the inside zone runs we wanted to get to. Sometimes on the outside run, they got penetration backside, but kudos to them. Great game plan. Dominant guys upfront. We knew that coming in this week. They lived up to their reputation. Shout out to them.”
The Texans had little to no passing game to speak of to complement Pierce. They weren’t even a one-dimensional offense. They were a no-dimensional offense as quarterback Davis Mills completed just 17 of 29 passes for 152 yards, one interception and a late touchdown with the outcome already decided for a 69.9 passer rating. He was sacked three times.
“It’s going to be a long film session,” Pierce said. “I can tell you that.”
Pierce rushed for 92 yards a week ago against the Las Vegas Raiders, 99 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars and 131 yards against the Los Angeles Chargers in his previous three games.
“We just couldn’t get things going, passing, running, the whole thing,” Texans offensive tackle Tytus Howard said. “We didn’t get the job done. We had the defense on the field, a lot of three-and-outs and short drives. We just didn’t do a good job, very frustrating.
“This is a tough one, a division game, rivalry. We hate Tennessee. They hate us. It’s personal. We should be better than what we played. We are better than how we played.”
Pierce was repeatedly met with resistance at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. He was tackled by linebacker David Long for a seven-yard loss.
“It’s just tough all the way around,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said. “Part of the game plan was to get in favorable third down situations, but that kind of started up front. When you can’t run the football, it’s pretty obvious down and distance on what we have to do. That’s just tough. We weren’t set up today to be able to handle some of that.
“When you get dominated up front on both sides of the football, part of the game plan, I mean, it’s hard to get any game plan going. Offensively for us, if they’re in our backfield every time, you can’t run, you can’t pass the football.”
The Texans went 2 for 14 on third downs.
“It’s tough,” said Mills, who struggled one game after an encouraging performance against the Raiders. “A lot of it, we were trying to run the ball on first and second down. We might pop a run and then get some sort of penalty on the play that gets us pushed back.
“Just not much going for us today. They can bring pressure when they know it’s a passing situation, and it’s tough to defend some of those guys. They have some really talented players on the other side of the ball.”
Now, the Texans have to get ready for a short turnaround Thursday night against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.
“We’re a running football team and that’s something we pride ourselves in and we were unable to do that tonight unfortunately,” Pierce said. “We’re going to get things corrected up front, and make sure we get this thing rolling going forward.
“A game like today is a game that you hate to throw on the film because coach is going to tell you that you could have did this, could have did that. Everybody loves you when you’re up and they kick you when you’re down. We’re just going to learn from it, keep progressing and get ready for Philly. The emotions are the same after any loss. Of course, you’re frustrated.”
On the other side of the football, Titans star running back Derrick Henry rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. Afterward, he talked to Pierce.
“Great guy, met him at Alabama camp in high school, been knowing him about six years,” Pierce said. “Great running back, one of the guys I idolize in the league, especially today, Great game for him. He told me, ‘Keep rolling.’ He said he likes my game. He likes the way I play and it’s going to pop eventually.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
