‘Lamar Jackson Blueprint’ Texans Key Vs. Colts’ Anthony Richardson?
The Houston Texans did something Sunday that has only happened 20 times in Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson's 71-game career: held him to under 40 yards rushing.
Jackson is one of the most elusive ball-carriers in the open field and one of the most accomplished rushing quarterbacks in NFL history, as his 4,475 yards on the ground rank fifth all-time behind Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Randall Cunningham, respectively. After holding him to 39 yards, the Texans' defense will have to contain a mobile quarterback for the second week in a row facing Indianapolis Colts signal-caller Anthony Richardson.
"Lamar is definitely one of the top quarterbacks in this league, you talk about athleticism and being able to create with his legs," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "I think our guys did a good job of just continuing to work. You never know when he's going to be down. You have to keep hunting, and that's what our guys did. It'll be the same this week, another quarterback who's athletic. He can run the ball, so we have another challenge."
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Jackson notched 11- and 14-yard runs Sunday. Other than that, his longest carry was for eight yards, as Houston applied pressure and sacked him four times.
The Texans forced Jackson to be a pocket passer and he struggled, as his 13.6 QBR was the third-worst of any quarterback that took the majority of a team's pass attempts in Week 1.
Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said there were times where he felt the Texans could have contained Jackson even more than they already did.
"I think as a defensive line we grew," Anderson said. "We learned from our lessons and we can improve on it into this next week."
In Week 1, Richardson ran for 40 yards on 10 attempts, scoring his first-career touchdown on a 2-yard quarterback draw. He broke arm tackles in the open field and got out of bounds to avoid contact. That's not to say he didn't fight for extra yards when needed.
The Colts trailed 31-21 with just over one minute to go in the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-5. Richardson scrambled and ran over two Jaguars defenders, driving forward for a first down after initial contact was made two yards short of the line to gain.
A hard fall on his knee in the first quarter lingered throughout the game and a hit late forced him to miss Indianapolis' final three offensive plays of the game. Richardson said after the game that he was more hurt about the Colts' loss than any injury to his knee, and Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said there's no fear he'll miss Week 2 against the Texans.
Through the air, Richardson showed promise, struggling at times and finishing 24-for-37 for 223 yards, one touchdown and a costly interception late that helped Jacksonville secure the win.
Jackson and Richardson are two separate quarterbacks, linebacker Denzel Perryman said. While Richardson has some elusiveness in the open field, it pales in comparison to Jackson when he's at his peak.
Richardson has a much larger frame than Jackson, standing 6-4 and weighing 244 pounds. Texans defenders will have to swarm Richardson and use fundamental tackling to bring him down.
Mobility can be defined in different ways. While Jackson and Richardson scrambling is their bread and butter, a lot of quarterbacks on Houston's schedule — like Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson — display their mobility by escaping the pocket and extending passing plays.
These first two games will be good benchmarks for the Texans in how to contain quarterbacks who use their legs to be successful.
"That's the theme of the league and that's where I think the trend is going with more quarterbacks who are athletic and can run the ball," Ryans said. "We'll see a lot of that each week."
Sunday will be a duel between top-five-draft-pick rookies in C.J. Stroud and Richardson. While Richardson might have the edge in mobility, Stroud's accuracy and arm talent clears that of the Colts QB.
All that matters in the end, though, is which team puts more points on the board.
