Tunsil faces test against Chiefs’ Clark

When the Texans traded for left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, they had extremely high expectations.

The Texans were willing to give up two first-round picks and more to the Dolphins for Tunsil, with matchups like this week’s in mind.

Tunsil, a former firstround pick, will be tasked with containing Kansas City pass rusher Frank Clark.

Traded from the Seattle in April and signed to a five-year, $105.5 million contract, Clark had 13 sacks last season. He has one interception and a sack this year for a rebuilt Chiefs defense.

“He knows what he’s doing for sure,” Tunsil said. “He’s a great pass rusher. He’s been in the league. He knows moves. He’s got go-to moves.”

Clark is fast and relentless off the edge. He commands a lot of attention.

“He plays hard, he’s physical, he’s big, he’s long,” Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. “He’s definitely a guy that’s tough to handle on the edge and our guys have a big challenge ahead of them.”

Tunsil is growing in his comfort level, though.

One week after the trade, Tunsil allowed two sacks against the Saints in his first game with the Texans

Tunsil was still learning the playbook and adapting to the style of mobile quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Now, Tunsil looks much more comfortable.

“For sure; this is my sixth week,” Tunsil said. “I’m getting to know the guys a little bit better, getting that chemistry down.”

Over the past three weeks, Tunsil has a combined 86.0 blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus analytics. That ranks him third among all tackles during that span.

NT Reader makes the grade

Texans nose tackle D.J. Reader is the highestranked interior defensive lineman overall in the league with a 91.1 grade and ranks the highest for run defense with an 89.9 mark, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He’s playing at a very high level right now,” Bill O’Brien said. “He’s doing a great job against the run with his technique, his footwork, his pad level, his hand usage, his footwork, and then he’s rushing the passer. He’s giving us some juice up inside and he’s playing very well.”

Rookie linemen getting job done

Rookie offensive lineman Max Scharping had three false starts, including two in the red zone, against the Falcons on Sunday.

Scharping and fellow rookie Tytus Howard are off to encouraging starts with the occasional growing pains. Scharping has become the starting left guard and Howard is starting at right tackle after some early work at guard.

“They’re playing pretty well, relative to being rookies,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “They’ve got to keep it going. Tytus and Max are very smart players. Offensive line played a good football game and we’ve got to have a great week of practice and try to play well again.”