- Deciding who will be the starting quarterback for the Houston Texans won't be the only decision on David Culley's mind this week.
The Texans coach said Wednesday that the staff will evaluate the play of both Max Scharping and Justin McCray. Whomever has the strongest week of practice likely lines up at right guard Sunday when Houston takes the field against the Los Angeles Rams.
"We are still going to look at it this week in practice and we will base that just off practice," Culley said. "Out of the game, obviously we felt we needed to make a change when we did with Max."
Scharping has started all seven games for the Texans this season and enters his third season as the team's right guard. A second-round pick from Northern Illinois in 2019, his play could be described as inconsistent at best.
Since being selected, Sharping has made 22 career starts.
McCray, the team's swing interior offensive lineman, has seen his fair share of reps across the NFL. The fifth-year player has taken snaps at all five offensive line positions, including starting in Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts at center for the injured Justin Britt.
Perhaps part of the reason for the sudden change is due to the lack of success in the run game. Houston currently is averaging 3.3 yards per carry, ranking them dead last in the NFL. The Texans rank 30th in rushing, averaging only 80.1 yards per game.
Houston has only two 100-plus rushing games, Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Week 5 against the Colts. The Rams feature one of the strongest run defenses in the league, led by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.
Los Angeles is holding opponents to an average of 111.1 yards per game. Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Houston averaged 2.8 yards per run off 15 total carries.
“He’s one of the top two or three defensive guys in the game at his position,” Culley said of Donald. “Has been since he came into the league. Nothing has changed. Obviously, we’re not going to allow him to wreck our game."
Culley said the team will go through practice this week and decide whether McCray or Scharping is the better option to start. Part of the decision could be made based off who takes first-team reps at quarterback.
Veteran QB Tyrod Taylor returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 2. Culley said that while rookie QB Davis Mills will see first-team reps in practice, this will not rule out Taylor from playing against Matthew Stafford and the Rams' front seven come Sunday.
"If Davis is going to be playing this week, as our starting quarterback, and right now he is," Culley said. "As we move into the week if we feel good about where Tyrod is at, we will give him some of his reps."
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