Lane Taylor hadn't played in a game since a year ago when he appeared in one game for the Green Bay Packers before being sidelined with a knee injury
The veteran offensive guard shed the rust quickly in his starting debut for the Texans as he formed a tandem with left tackle Tytus Howard. Taylor, 32, drew praise from the coaching staff for his work in 54 snaps, including 32 passing plays and 22 running plays.
Taylor, who signed a one-year contract with the Texans during the offseason after visiting the San Francisco 49ers, has played in three games for the Texans this season since being activated from the physically unable to perform list.
Taylor has now played in 81 career games with 51 career starts.
The Texans allowed five sacks Sunday during a 21-14 loss to the New York Jets with Taylor yielding one sack. Overall, the Texans were pleased with Taylor's work and he will start his second game in a row Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
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“Yeah he’s been doing a good job working back from injury and putting in the work in the training room and the weight room and the practice field, and we felt like he was ready," Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. "He did a good job and went out and played well.”
In 2017, the former All-Big 12 selection signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the Packers after starting every game for the first time in his career.
Taylor appeared to hold up solidly. Overall, though, it was a rough game for the offensive line. The Texans may get veteran center Justin Britt back from a knee injury this week after he was designated for return from injured reserve and returned to practice last Friday.
The Jets' aggressive front seven made things difficult for Taylor, who was under heavy duress.
"They were flying around, they were everywhere playing very physical," running back Rex Burkhead said. "We've got to execute. If we don't do that, if we're not good on the little details, you know, it's going to feel like that. It's going to feel like they're flying around, they're in your face every single time. And so really just comes down to execution."
“They're a physical front. They move guys around, give you different looks. And we knew going in that something that they do. You try to stop them from getting going. At times, we didn't do that. We didn't give Tyrod enough time because when we do our offense really gets clicking and gets moving. So, hopefully, we can look at that and make some changes.”