Texans' Dameon Pierce Aiming To 'Clean Up' Run Game
Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce didn't have his best game in the season-opening loss against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, as he logged just 11 carries for 38 yards. The 23-year-old spoke about his rough start to the new season after the game, stating that Baltimore's "run defense was aggressive."
"They played to their identity and we’ve just got to make sure we play to ours," Pierce told KPRC2's Aaron Wilson. "We want to be a clean procedural team, running the ball with efficiency to get first downs, setting up our passing game, and we couldn’t get any of that rolling. We were shooting ourselves in the foot, but we’re going to clean it up this week."
Pierce explained that they "didn't hit (their) keys to victory," and if all of them weren't hit—even if it's "eight (keys) out of 10—" a loss is guaranteed.
"(The Ravens are a) great team," Pierce said. "They came with a great plan, they played hard, but they were who we were expecting them to be. We’ve just got to clean things up on our end."
Pierce is expected to take a big leap in his second season, especially after a shockingly good rookie campaign for a fourth-round pick.
Pierce finished last season fifth in yards after contact (506), fourth in broken tackles (27) and he broke a tackle every eight rushing attempts (second-best in the NFL). He was one of just three players in the NFL to average more yards after contact (2.3) than before it (2.0). The only reason Pierce wasn't higher in these categories is because he was sidelined in the final four games of the season due to a foot injury.
The bulldozing running back has previously stated that he "doesn't have good intentions" for opposing defenses this year and is "finding ways to be even angrier."
Hopefully, Week 2's home opener against the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 17 will be an angrier (in a good way) game for Pierce, as his 11 carries against the Ravens were a small sample size to make season-long judgments.
That being said, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans stated during Monday's press conference that they will "try to run (the ball) more" in the future.
