How ‘everything is on the table’ for Texans after pass protection meltdown, Laremy Tunsil emphasizes bigger picture

GREEN BAY, Wis. – C.J. Stroud was under major siege, enduring heavy pressure from all angles as the hits kept coming fast and furious as the Green Bay Packers’ aggressive defense invaded the Texans’ offensive backfield.

There was no time to adequately set up the majority of the time. There were seemingly no effective adjustments on the fly to the heat coming at the Texans’ Pro Bowl quarterback.

Stroud was sacked four times and hit seven times overall as he passed for a career-low 86 yards on 10 of 21 passing with 55 net passing yards during the Texans’ 24-22 road loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field. The Packers’ defensive strategy engineered by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was clicking as he dialed up blitz after blitz or generated pressure with line stunts and overloads as Green Bay looped and sprinted to hit Stroud time after time for combined losses of 31 yards. On third down, it was particularly glaring as Stroud completed just 2 of 7 passes for 13 yards and was sacked three times.

In particular, linebacker Eric Wilson was adept at shooting gaps on fire blitzes as the Packers crowded the line of scrimmage with seven players inside the tackle box as he piled up two sacks and four tackles for losses. On one of the sacks, right tackle Tytus Howard’s cleats got caught up in the grass and he tripped as Rashan Gary sacked Stroud. On a sack coming on a safety blitz from Xavier McKinney, he was completely unblocked as he ran past tight end Dalton Schultz while Laremy Tunsil blocked a defensive lineman. Stroud’s frustration showed during the game as he tossed his helmet on the ground on the sideline before he talked with the Texans’ offensive line.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has seen enough of the pass protection breakdowns. Seven games into the season for the 5-2 Texans, Stroud has already been sacked 20 times for a season-long pace of 48 sacks. Bottom line: the Texans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik can’t run the plays without better communication, better blocking and timely, well-planned adjustments to the pressure packages.

“We have a lot of things to clean up when it comes to our protection and it’s everyone involved: O-line, tight ends, backs,” Ryans said Monday during his weekly press conference at NRG Stadium. “It’s everybody working together, being on the same page and just getting it done. We’ve had multiple weeks where the same things have hurt us multiple times, so we have to get it fixed, starting with the coaches and down to the players of finishing and executing.”

What does that mean? Would the Texans change personnel or the entire scheme? Ryans emphasized that nothing is off-limits

“For me, everything is on the table when it comes to it,” Ryans said. “Has to get fixed.”

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Stroud was pressured 48.5 percent of the time against Green Bay for a career-high rate, according to Next Gen Stats. He’s the seventh-most frequently pressured quarterback in the NFL.

“They rush as one,” Stroud said. “They have a lot of twist game upfront so the more that they twist and turn we just have to settle a little bit and just try to level it off, but I thought they did a good job sitting in their stunts. We just have to be better in protection and I have to be better at getting the ball out on time. It is a multitude of things.”

Veteran offensive line coach Chris Strausser and assistant line coach Cole Popovich and Slowik are tasked with coming up with solutions.

Ryans was asked what’s his level of confidence in Strausser to get the job done.

“When it comes to it, I know how we’re coached, what we’re asking to be done and it’s just not showing up on the tape,” Ryans said. “And it’s not just one person. It’s the entire thing. So, it’s just the entire offense from the top to the bottom, we have to get it cleaned up. Not one person or one thing, but multiple things, multiple issues that we have to get, collectively, we have to get it fixed.”

After the game, to a man, the Texans’ offensive line was accountable.

Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil graded out the highest with an 80.9 pass blocking grade and one pressure and one hurry allowed, according to Pro Football Focus analytics.

To make a serious playoff run, Tunsil emphasized things need to improve.

“They were doing twist games to get free, I think they did a good job of dialing it up,” Tunsil told KPRC 2. “We’re going to watch film and get better. We have to be on the same page. Just get better and fix our mistakes. It’s a long season. It’s on to the next. We’ve got to be a balanced offense. We’ve got to be on the same page to reach the goal we want and get to the destination we want to be in.

“We can’t just be good on one side. We have to be good on the other. We’ve got to be efficient. It’s still early in the season. We’re going to fix our mistakes. We’re going to take accountability. There’s no reason to dwell on it. We keep on going.”

Texans left guard Kenyon Green had a team-low 29.0 pass blocking grade with one sack allowed, two hurries and three pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

“Just communication, we’ve got to communicate and lock in,” said Green, a former first-round draft pick from Texas A&M. “They came out in the second half with a different game plan and they executed. We got to execute and that’s what we didn’t do. We need to execute and finish. It’s football. You have good game and bad games. You have to keep fighting. It’s a long season. We have to get ready for the Colts.”

Center Juice Scruggs allowed a sack to Wilson and two pressures, and right guard Shaq Mason surrendered one hit and two pressures.

“They were mixing up looks, pressure, stunts, those type of things,” Mason said. “It’s really about us more than anything. Very disappointing. We left a lot of plays out there. All we can do is watch the tape, learn from it, continue to grow. Games like this hurt, but we’re going to be in this position again.

“We have to find a way to win. Absolutely, we know there are plays out there we missed. We regroup. There’s a lot of ball left. We go back to the drawing board, watch the tape and put our best foot forward for next week.”

The Texans averaged just 2.2 yards per passing play.

“The passing attack couldn’t get going because, of course, protection, also the routes,” Ryans said. “We had some plays. We dropped a pass, we dropped a touchdown. It’s just, overall, it wasn’t clean from an execution standpoint from the route distribution to protection and I think quarterback was sped up a little bit and it caused some issues for us.”

All of that said, this isn’t the time to push the panic button. The 5-2 Texans are in first place in the AFC South division heading into Sunday’s home game against the 4-3 Indianapolis Colts. They’ve lost both of their games against the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s not as if Stroud has been sacked this much every game. He has passed for 1,663 yards, tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. He has passed for 10 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

“The guys have done it multiple games,” Ryans said. “We’ve had a lot of great games where we have protected very well. And we’ve done a great job of protecting and allowing C.J. to throw for over 300 yards in games. So, it’s not something we can’t get done. It’s just a matter of us executing and finishing and being on the details every single time we go out. It’ll always be about us and us executing. We didn’t execute well. They made some plays on us and, unfortunate there, we gave up some plays that kind of knocked us out of field goal range to take points off the board.

“Everything’s going to start with communication and it’s going to start with guys being clear and concise on what they’re doing up front. So, it all starts communicating and everybody being on the same page. Good coaches have to make sure we make those adjustments and get it done within game. And that’s where you separate yourself as a coach, being able to adjust on the fly from whatever you may have prepared for and what is happening at the moment. So, you have to be able to adjust on the fly and get it fixed.”

And, now, the Texans have to turn the page and come up with answers for their pass protection issues

“I’m done with the game,” Ryans said. “I just have to come in here and answer all the questions. I’m done with it and I’ve moved on. After you guys have watched the film and got all the criticism, bring it on, but it’s good. I’m onto the next. All I’m thinking about is the Colts.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com