Key Takeaways from Houston Texans' 1st 2 Games of the Season

The Houston Texans, just a season removed from a near-playoff berth, find themselves at the bottom of the AFC South after beginning this year 0-2. While there are many scapegoats for their early skid, the real culprits are the patchwork offensive line and missing ground game.

Obviously, the bulk of the blame has been laid at the foot of the quarterback position. Yes, it's a liability, but that was the expectation of nearly every analyst and honest fan.

Ironically, it's the supporting cast—comprised of those solid players the Texans have recruited to buoy the team in the absence of a true franchise field general—that has simply failed to perform that duty.

Perhaps the greatest area of weakness thus far for the Texans has been their offensive line. What likely would have been a fairly average group falling somewhere around mid-pack across the league has been decimated by injuries.

As John McClain of the Houston Chronicle pointed out, there's already been some serious shuffling among the group, leading to inconsistencies. 

Pro Bowl left tackle Duane Brown, who has been battling a thumb injury throughout the summer, was able to play a week ago, but after aggravating it further, he missed Week 2 and will likely miss Houston's next few outings. 

Obviously, the Texans would like to see his return to the field sooner rather than later, but as the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson revealed, Brown wants to return in a full capacity and for the long term, which might take a little while longer.

Jeff Adams started at right tackle after playing left guard in Week 1 but was carted off of the field in the second quarter with a right-knee injury. According to the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson, the 26-year-old's officially out for the season with a torn patellar tendon.

These injuries and inconsistencies have led to a lot pressure reaching both Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett. Instead of bolstering their playing level by affording them extra time to make a good throw, the patchwork offensive line has left them exposed.

It has let down the Texans' ground game as well.

Over the course of Houston's two outings, it has only managed a combined 159 yards rushing. By contrast, injured running back Arian Foster has rushed for 100 yards or more 32 times in his career, per HoustonTexans.com.

So, is it backups Alfred Blue, Chris Polk and Jonathan Grimes or the lack of blocking up front?

While the blame seems to be shared equally among all parties, the fact remains that the Texans lose their offensive identity and with it the ability to win games without a solid running game. 

The Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson quoted Brown describing exactly why it's crucial for the Texans to improve their ground attack.

According to ESPN.com's Tania Ganguli, since Foster's breakout season in 2010, the Texans have only had 23 or fewer rushing attempts in 19 games. They've won two of them.

It should come as no surprise then that Houston ran the ball only 23 times in Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers.

In order to compensate for the lack of a rushing attack, Houston has resorted to passing. A lot.

Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs saw Hoyer and Mallett combine for 47 pass attempts, and the number climbed even higher Week 2 when Mallett threw 58 times.

The Texans should never lead the league in pass attempts, particularly not with Hoyer and Mallett under center, but they do with a total of 105.

Asking either Hoyer or Mallett to throw that often with limited pass protection and no support from the ground game is a recipe for disaster. 

But it isn't the only reason why Houston finds itself beginning the season 0-2. 

It has often been proved that turnovers can be the difference between a win and a loss. Last season, the Houston defense, led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, led the league in takeaways with 34.

Against the Panthers, free safety Rahim Moore gave Houston its first, but that number will need to increase rapidly in order to provide the shaky Texans offense some second opportunities, particularly when it's already given the ball away three times this season—once Sunday, twice a week ago.

That's a turnover differential of minus-two. In 2014, the Texans tied for second in the league by creating 12 more turnovers than they committed. It's still early in the season, so it's critical that Houston reverses this trend.

In short, the Texans defense will have to begin picking up the slack for the team's offense as it used to. (And it should go without saying that the multiple missed tackles and big downfield plays—such as the ones given up to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr.—need to stop.)

Looking ahead, it is imperative the Texans balance their offense in order to begin winning games. As it always has, the solution to Houston's problems will begin with its ground attack.

With some improvement from the offensive line and hopefully the speedy recovery of Brown, the Texans can hand off the ball with greater frequency and greater success. Foster's impending return will provide a tremendous boost to rushing productivity, thus taking much of the weight off of Hoyer and/or Mallett.

The respect for Foster and Co. running the ball will keep defenses from constantly loading pressure on Houston's quarterbacks, and with the QBs no longer needing to throw an absurd amount of times, the Texans' pass-completion rate will go up. 

The longer Houston can sustain drives, the greater amounts of rest its defense will receive, leaving it fresher and better able to make big plays. Those plays will translate to some much-needed points for the Texans, whether on offense or defense, and the team will no longer find itself having to overcome large point deficits to win.

As the Houston Chronicle's Brian Smith pointed out, while the season is young, precious time is passing by.

But it's not too late for the Houston Texans to make something of their season (yet)—they simply need to begin playing the kind of football their team is equipped to and soon. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com unless noted otherwise.