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Texans Can Herd Rams Through the Trenches

Originally posted on The Lead | By Cody Taylor | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 4:11 PM ET

The Houston Texans start their 2025-26 Super Bowl campaign in Los Angeles against the 2024 NFC West Champion Rams. It is the first time these teams have faced off since Halloween of 2021. The Texans have not matched up well against the Rams, only winning once (2009) in their five meetings. Sunday will give the team a new chance to inch this matchup closer to .500. The Texans have a tall task opening against Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and company. DeMeco Ryans, C.J. Stroud, and crew have the tools they need to win. Here are the keys to putting it together.

S.W.A.R.M.

Part of the Rams’ training camp story was Matthew Stafford’s back and his readiness to go. Another was their left tackle, Alaric Jackson, returning from dealing with a blood clot issue. Neither player played in the preseason. The Texans need to use that rust to their advantage to make Stafford uncomfortable in the pocket and get to him as often as they can.

What SWARM sounds like

(via @gmfb ) pic.twitter.com/5Np4EpkvDx

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 27, 2025

Having Danielle Hunter or Will Anderson going against a rusty left tackle should be advantagous. If the defensive line can get pressure on Stafford, it will give the defensive backs a better chance to contain Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.

Talk of the Town: Texans O-Line

What about the Texans’ offensive line? What about their weapons outside of Nico Collins ? The offensive line actually played very well during the preseason. Regardless of it being against vanilla defenses, they showed a lot of improvement over the course of the three games. Rookie tackle Aireontae Ersery had an impressive camp and preseason and is currently slated to be the starting left tackle. The energy he brought was recognized by Stroud and the defense.

The Texans starting OL and how they ended up in Houston:

LT – Aireontae Ersery (25’ 2nd Rounder)
LG – Laken Tomlinson (25’ Free Agent)
C – Jake Andrews (25’ Waiver Claim)
RG – Ed Ingram (25’ Trade)
RT – Tytus Howard

This has to be one of the most uniquely built groups in the… pic.twitter.com/Yp9d6uYz6B

— Jacob (@TexansJacob) September 3, 2025

The Iowa State rookie duo of Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel showed why the Texans invested their draft picks in them — both had good camps and preseasons. With offseason acquisition Christian Kirk on the injury report, the young duo will be looked upon to contribute early. If they can pull attention away from Collins, it will give Stroud a lot more to work with and will keep the Rams’ defense guessing.

Caley goes back to Hollywood

There were glimpses of a revitalized Texans offense during the preseason. Nick Caley is giving more control of the offense to Stroud and is letting him make the adjustments as he needs to. The run game showed more fluidity, and the offensive line play was improved. The student now returns to face the master, as Caley came to the Texans from the Rams in the 2025 offseason. It will be fun to watch how he helps Houston’s offense take apart the Rams’ defense. After a rough season under former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik in 2024, fans are excited to see what all Nick Caley will bring now that the Texans are playing meaningful football.

This article first appeared on The Lead and was syndicated with permission.

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