The Houston Texans' biggest weakness on offense meets the strength of the Kansas City Chiefs defense on Saturday afternoon.
It's no secret that the Texans' interior offensive line has struggled mightily, particularly at the guard position. That's not a great recipe when preparing to face Chris Jones.
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans knows his club can't let the Chiefs' dominant defensive tackle wreck the game.
"Make sure you know where '95' is at all times," Ryans said Tuesday, via the team's official transcript. "Chris is an outstanding player, size, strength, pass rusher ability. Not only inside, he lines up outside, can get in on the edge as well, does a great job of batting passes down. He just totally impacts the game for them, and you see why he has been a dominant defensive tackle in this league. His pure will, strength, everything about him. He is just a great player."
Jones has generated 5.0 sacks, 16 QB hits and 10 tackles for loss in 2024 -- his fewest sacks in a season since his rookie season of 2016 (2.0 sacks). The star defensive lineman has zero sacks and a 10.7 QB pressure rate when aligned in the interior in 2024, per Next Gen Stats. All five of his sacks and a 14.1 pressure rate have come aligned at the edge.
"For us, you have to have awareness where '95' is. No one can fall asleep on '95,'" Ryans said. "You have to make sure you are aware. You have to go challenge him and you have to go compete. That is what this game is about and that is what I am most excited about, they have really good players, they have good players. Let's put the ball down, compete and see what happens."
C.J. Stroud has been under siege this season, getting sacked 45 times in 14 games (38 times in 15 games in 2023). He has averaged more than 40 fewer passing yards per game and more than a yard fewer per pass attempt than during his rookie campaign.
Those glaring numbers will look worse on Saturday if the Texans don't identify and slow down Jones.
