Texans’ $1 Breakout: Offensive Lineman is Turning Doubters Into Believers

Even after the Houston Texans made wholesale changes across their offensive line in the offseason as an attempt to make up for the fact that the unit was one of the worst in the NFL in 2024, there wasn't much more than lukewarm optimism that the group would 

Sure, there was reason to believe that four fresh faces and a new offensive scheme might, in the best case scenario, result in moderate improvements, but based on the talent alone, there remained more questions than you'd like.

Take for example Ed Ingram, the Texans starter at right guard who Houston landed in the offseason for the price of a 6th Round draft pick. Ingram, a 2022 2nd Round draft pick out of LSU who fell out of favor in Minnesota, wasn't necessarily looked at as a concrete improvement over Shaq Mason, who held down the spot each of the two prior seasons.

Ed Ingram flashed decent potential during his rookie year with the Vikings, but never improved upon it in each of the next two seasons. But since arriving in Houston, Ingram hasn't looked like anything but a bonafide starter at the position.

Through the first five weeks of the season, Ingram was the top-ranked guard in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus, boasting the 2nd-best run blocking grade in the NFL behind only perennial All-Pro Quenton Nelson, in addition to a league average pass-blocking grade (63.3, ranked 43rd out of 106 qualified guards) that is right on par with Mason's pass-blocking grade last season (65.2, 53rd out of 136 qualified guards).

In fact, Ingram has been such a revelation along the offensive line that is performance prompted Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon named Ingram the biggest breakout player on the entire Houston Texans roster over the first five weeks of the season.

"The Texans line has been through plenty of trials and tribulations, but Ingram has come over from the Vikings and shined at right guard," Gagnon wrote before noting how Ingram stacks up in PFF's player grades.

But frankly, it's not just Ingram who has represented an improvement over Houston's options along the offensive line last year.

Ed Ingram Just One Of Many Upgrades Along Texans Offensive Line

Now I feel as though it's my obligation to mention that PFF grades are not the be-all and end-all when it comes to evaluating player performance. Generally, it can be considered a solid indicator of performance, but there are always outliers. For example, care to take a guess as to who the highest-graded quarterback in the NFL was heading into Week 6?

You're probably throwing out names like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford. All solid guesses. But that distinction belonged to -- drumroll please -- Marcus Mariota, backup quarterback of the Washington Commanders.

(Since we threw in a drumroll already, how about we toss in some canned laughter too, because that's objectively very funny.)

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because below, I've included a table with the grades of Houston's starters along the offensive line this year compared to their most frequent group from last year, and as you'll soon see, the PFF grades don't paint a picture of how well they've held up this season in comparison to last season.

Across the entire group, the grades are pretty similar -- if you total up the grades of all five players and average it out, the 2025 group's grade (58.7) is actually sightly lower than the 2024 group (61.7) -- but ask anyone within the Texans organization, and they'll likely tell you that this year's five-man unit is holding up better than last year's did.

One of the things we heard quite frequently in the offseason as the Texans were undergoing all of these changes was that it wasn't necessarily the individual talent of Houston's offensive line that was the problem during the 2024 season... it was how ineffective the group had been at coalescing and working together as a unit that was the issue.

This feels like a classic, 'the whole is greater than the sum of its part' situation for the Houston Texans, though having an emerging star in Ed Ingram certainly helps the whole. This year, Houston has given up just 12 sacks through 5 games, putting them on pace for 41 on the season, a significant improvement over last year, when CJ Stroud was sacked 52 times.

Brian Branch to Appeal One-Game Suspension After Altercation With JuJu Smith-Schuster

The NFL suspended Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch for striking Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster following their game Sunday night, October 12. But instead of accepting his punishment outright, Branch decided again to fight on Monday.

 

Branch intends to appeal the league’s ruling of a one-game suspension without pay, per a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network on October 13.

“Brian Branch is appealing, source said,” Rapoport posted to X.

Should the NFL’s decision hold, Branch will miss his team’s “Monday Night Football” showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) on October 20.

The game will take place at Ford Field in Detroit, which might soften the blow a bit. However, the Lions will be without starting cornerbacks in D.J. Reed, who is currently on the injured reserve list (IR) with a serious hamstring issue, and Terrion Arnold, who is almost certain to sit out due to shoulder injury he suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5.

If Branch is also out, that means the Detroit secondary will be down three of its opening-day starters against a Tampa Bay offense that ranks sixth in the league with 27.5 points per game and seventh in pass offense at 244.2 yards per outing, per ESPN.

Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since he sustained it against the New York Jets on September 21, while rookie standout Emeka Egbuka suffered a hamstring strain of his own on Sunday and could miss next week’s contest in Detroit. But even without those two pass-catchers, quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense won’t be easy to slow down with a bunch of backups and reserves floating around the Lions secondary.

Brian Branch Admitted Culpability in Explanation for Why He Went After JuJu Smith-Schuster

 

Branch’s appeal could prove tough sledding, as the safety essentially admitted after the game that what he did was wrong.

“It was a childish thing, but I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it,” Branch said, per ESPN. “They be trying to bully me out there. I should have never did it. It was childish.”

Smith-Schuster, who came up out of the scrum with his helmet ripped off and his nose bleeding, also spoke with reporters about the incident following the game.

“He’s a great player and he’s huge for [their] team,” Smith-Schuster said in reference to Branch. “After the game, I expected to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game.’ But he threw a punch.”

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Had Words for Brian Branch Immediately Following Postgame Altercation

 

It was actually Branch’s interaction with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes following the last play of the game that initiated everything that followed.

Mahomes attempted to shake Branch’s hand, a gesture that the Lions DB brushed off. Smith-Schuster reacted noticeably to the snub, after which Branch threw the first punch that kicked off a much larger physical confrontation between multiple players on both teams.

“I mean, we play the game in between the whistles,” Mahomes said after the fight ended. “They can do all the extra-curricular stuff they want to do, but we play the game between the whistles.”

 

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