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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
Close- DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show, “Talkin’ Texans.”
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INDIANAPOLIS — The new members of the Houston Texans‘ offense dazzled in their debut as running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Stefon Diggs combined for three touchdowns in Sunday’s 29-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Mixon had his third-highest career rushing output in a single game as he finished with 159 yards with a touchdown. Diggs had six catches for just 33 yards but finished with two touchdowns, one of which came on a crucial fourth-and-goal play from the Colts’ 2-yard line with 4:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans called Diggs and Mixon’s offensive performance “everything” for Houston as the duo scored all of the team’s touchdowns in Week 1.
“Those guys can step up and make plays no matter what the situation is,” Ryans said postgame. “When you can count on those guys to make plays, it’s huge for our team, not just the offense, but what they did for our entire team.”
Mixon ran well against every defensive look the Colts threw at Houston. He ran for 88 yards against a light box, 34 yards against a neutral box and 37 yards against a stacked box. Mixon said he told the offensive line earlier in the week “let’s go get 150 to start it off.”
“We got 159 and we just got to keep getting better and keep building,” Mixon said. “[Texans general manager] Nick Caserio made some ace moves in the offseason. I’m just glad to be on this side … Me and Stefon were able to complement each other and all game and we were on it. We were in each other face like, ‘Bro, let’s do this.'”
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was a Pro Bowler in his rookie year, started his Year 2 going 24-for-32 for 234 yards and two touchdowns and pushed his interception-less streak to 230 attempts.
Both of Stroud’s touchdowns were to Diggs, and both came on either third or fourth down as Stroud had a passer rating of 129 when targeting the All-Pro receiver.
The 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year called Mixon and Diggs’ debut “huge” for Houston.
“They are two great leaders. They were constantly on the sideline, picking guys up, telling everybody we just need to be better,” Stroud said. “I definitely think both those guys having big games will definitely just keep us trending up. Once you set a standard, everybody else kind of falls to that standard and wants to follow that. So I definitely love those guys, and love what they’ve been doing, and I think they’re just getting started.”
This was Diggs’ first game with a touchdown since Week 11 last season, when he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. It also was his first multiple-touchdown performance since Week 4 of that season.
“It’s gratifying from the receiver position,” Diggs said. “From training camp on, working my tail off trying to be a captain and trying to lead the team. I’m alongside guys that do it as well, like Joe and C.J. In those moments when they lean on you it’s because they trust you in those big moments. Fourth down, money on the floor, trust one.”
