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Sep 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; A general overall view as Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws the ball against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

3 Risers, 2 Fallers After Texans' Week 1 Loss vs. Rams

Originally posted on Houston Texans on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 6:09 PM ET

The Houston Texans weren't able to get the job done against the Los Angeles Rams for their 2025 season opener, falling short 9-14 in SoFi Stadium, despite almost pulling out a late comeback in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

And in the midst of the Texans' efforts, multiple players on the field saw their stock shift both positively and negatively. After a long and busy offseason for Houston, it was finally a chance to get a look at some real game action for this new-look roster, where we were able to find some key takeaways for a select few guys.

Here are three risers and two fallers on the Texans' roster following the events of their Week 1 loss against the Rams:

Riser: RB Nick Chubb

Overall, it was fair to say Nick Chubb put together a solid debut in a Texans uniform.

Houston's free agent signing from earlier this summer led the way in the backfield with 13 of their total 21 carries with over four yards per attempt, showcasing that he's the clear RB1 in the room, and can remain in that role down the season if he can sustain the high workload.

It remains to be seen just how long the Texans' backfield will be without Joe Mixon, but Chubb proved he's certainly capable of being a serviceable fill-in.

Faller: OT Aireontae Ersery

On the other side of the spectrum for Texans debuts, second-round rookie Aireontae Ersery didn't have quite as strong a first regular-season game in uniform for Houston.

Pro Football Focus graded Ersery at a brutal 41.6 overall blocking grade for his performance on Sunday, sunken by a brutal 29.4 pass blocking grade on the day. Ersery allowed five total pressures, two QB hits, and allowed one sack, mostly seeing his reps at the right tackle spot following the late changes to the line ahead of kickoff, effectively moving him from left to right in favor of Cam Robinson.

It was the first game of Ersery's NFL career against a tough Rams defensive front, so it's fair to cut Ersery some slack for a disappointing first regular-season game. But it'll certainly place a bigger magnifying glass on what he'll have in store for Week 2's home opener.

Riser: LB Azeez Al-Shaiir

Azeez Al-Shaiir made his presence felt during the Texans' season opener by emerging as one of Houston's best playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.

Even beyond his momentum-shifting forced fumble in the fourth quarter that almost put together a Texans comeback, he was one of the top-graded defenders of the day outside of Houston's star pass-rushing duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Al-Shaiir had the third-best defensive grade via PFF at an 80.8, and the best pass coverage grade on that side of the football at 83.9 in his 30 pass coverage snaps.

In a rather promising day defensively for the Texans, Al-Shaiir was one of the biggest bright spots of note.

Faller: RB Dare Ogunbowale

There's one obvious and unfortunate play that'll define Dare Ogunbowale's Week 1 performance over anything, and that's his critical fumble given up late in the fourth quarter that stopped a Texans' comeback right in its tracks.

That fumble, of course, would give the football back to Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense, which would inevitably end in a first-down throw to Puka Nacua to ice the game. A nightmare scenario for anyone in Ogunbowale's shoes.

Ogunbowale, who was recently named a Texans captain, was mostly a contributor on special teams last season, but he surprisingly landed the second-most offensive snaps for a Houston running back during Week 1 in LA. It'll be interesting to see how those snaps look once we get deeper into the season, and even so for Week 2.

Riser: TE Dalton Schultz

Dalton Schultz finds his way on the rise not for his play on Sunday, but more so for what happened in the final moments of the Texans' final offensive drive, as starting tight end Cade Stover would go down with a broken foot to sideline him indefinitely.

Currently, that leaves one tight end on the Texans roster in Schultz. Obviously, that'll be a number that changes ahead of Week 2, but it will inevitably put more responsibility on Schultz's shoulders moving forward as the clear top tight end on the roster.

Stover barely beat out Schultz for snaps in Week 1, as the duo split those tight end reps fairly evenly, 34-32. Keep an eye on how that number shifts for Schultz heading into Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.