Could David Montgomery be key to unlock Texans' offense?

HOUSTON -- Throughout training camp for theHouston Texans, newly-acquired running backDavid Montgomerywas adamant about his all-around ability.

In his debut Sunday, he backed his talk -- finishing with the most touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) in a Texan debut in franchise history.

Houston fell short, 36-31, to theBuffalo Bills, to foil Montgomery's day, but he had 79 total yards (60 rushing and 19 receiving) as Houston scored the most points in a season opener under coach DeMeco Ryans in his four years.

Houston had a need at running back, so they traded for Montgomery with the Detroit Lions in March.The offense finished with 124 rushing yards on 32 carries, which helped take pressure off quarterbackC.J. Stroudand helped open up passing lanes en route to a 287-yard passing day.

"That's going to be our identity," Montgomery said. "[Offensive coordinator] Nick Caley believes in that. Coach Ryans believes in that also. Me, [Woody Marks] whenever we get the balls in our hands, we want to make it a point to take it personal to ensure that they can lean on us when they need us."

Ryans felt good about the execution from Houston's offensive line combination of left tackle Aireontae Ersery, rookie left guard Keylan Rutledge, center Evan Brown, right guard Ed Ingram and right tackle Trent Brown.

If the offensive line can consistently pave running lanes for Montgomery, that'll create the foundation Ryans wants: Physicality.

"David doesn't do a great job without talking about the offensive line," Ryans said. "I thought those guys controlled the line of scrimmage really well, especially in those short-yardage, critical situations."

From an advanced metrics standpoint, Montgomery's day where he averaged 3.0 yards per carry could have been more efficient all-around. He had a 35% success rate, which ranked 27th among running backs with at least 10 carries in Week 1 according to Next Gen Stats, and Houston's run block win rate was 74% (16th). So there's room to grow.

Montgomery called their offensive output "OK" -- which speaks to them not being satisfied. But his individual performance added him to an active two-player list of having a multi-rushing touchdown game with three different franchises (Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and Houston) joining his former teammate in quarterback Justin Fields (Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets).

Houston brought in Montgomery with hopes that he could be a true bell cow for an offense that ranked 22nd in rushing yards per game (108.9) and 29th in yards per carry (3.9).

"I would've loved to give David a game ball," Ryans said. "Very impressive game by him. Really encouraged with what he brings. Guy who can be an explosive runner, physical runner, he was able to get positive yards -- even when the run may have been blocked for zero [yards], he was able to get four and five yards on runs."br/]