Texans defeat the Steelers 20-12 in a Friday night preseason game

On Friday night, the Texans demonstrated their coach's style of play by swarming to the ball, pressuring Justin Fields, and taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. It's evident that DeMeco Ryans has the full attention of the team as he commands them. Throughout camp, he has emphasized playing a relentless brand of football, a phrase that has even been featured in season ticket promotions playing on a continuous loop.

It feels as though we are lightyears removed from David Culley, who showed as much emotion on the sidelines as your local librarian.

The highlight of the game came when C.J. Stroud connected with Tank Del for a 34-yard touchdown reception. This was largely set up by Tank's 22-yard punt return, giving the Texans great field position.

The special teams players helped control the field position for most of the first half. The first return of the night was an 18-yard run by Steven Sims. Brandon Hill made a crucial fumble recovery on a punt that was fumbled by Quez Watkins.

One lowlight centered around Dameon Pierce, whose struggles running the ball continued. With just four carries, resulting in a meager four total yards from scrimmage, the memory of Dameon's remarkable 2022 accomplishments continues to fade away.

How many Texans fans remember Dameon's 139-yard performance in week 9 against the Eagles in 2022? It feels like ancient history, doesn't it? Adding to Dameon's moment was running back Dare Ogunbowale finding the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, which extended the Texans' lead to 14-0.

Equally as problematic was no one on the Steelers defense buying into C.J.'s misdirection run fake to Dameon. As I wrote way back on May 4th , it's an open question if Pierce makes this roster.

Other highlights include a swarming defense, a sack on a third down from Danielle Hunter who's carrying over his 16.5 sack pace from a year ago. Hunter already appears to be in mid-season form.

There was also an excellent interception by Brandon Hill to close out the game.

Up next, a rare Saturday matinee at high noon at NRG verses the NY Giants. Can Dameon Pierce rebound? Will we ever see linebacker Christian Harris before the regular season opener next month in Indy? Will some of the Texans o-line pieces return for a few series? That's up next as the Texans return in front of the hometown fans since the blowout wildcard win over the Browns on January 13th.