It took some time, but the Texans offense looked sharp on Saturday. 

In the final tuneup before the regular season, Houston came out with backups from the start as players looked to prove they deserve a roster spot and some of them shined in their last chance to make a lasting impression before roster cuts in a 17-15 win for Houston.

Cam Akers virtually guaranteed a roster spot and continued to show why he may be the main backup running back to Joe Mixon, even over Dameon Pierce. Even coming off an achilles injury last year, Akers showed plenty of pop, patience and an understanding of Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s run scheme and shined when he played, carrying the ball seven times for 53 yards and averaging over seven yards per carry.

“Cam has done a really nice job ever since he got here,” said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. “He didn’t get here until late in training camp but he’s stepped in and done a really nice job. When he gets the ball in his hands, he just makes plays, make defenders miss and most importantly he makes the right plays. It’s exciting.”

Case Keenum had a decent showing as he tried to lock down the third quarterback spot on the Texans roster and Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie had good moments when they played in the first half, which was needed from both if they wanted to make the roster with a loaded receiver room.

“It’s tough, especially at running back and wide receiver this year because there’s so much competition this year,” Ryans said. “But it’s also exciting, that’s what you want is guys pushing each other but it makes our ob so tough with these decisions because all of those guys deserve it, we just only have so many spots.”

The Texans managed only three points in the first quarter of the game as the offense struggled and the defense was put in a bad spot early when Desmond King muffed a punt after the Rams opening possession. But Houston got the ball moving late in the quarter, getting a field goal and got their first touchdown early in the second on a 5-yard pass from Tim Boyle to Troy Hariston.

The Rams came back and trimmed the lead to one-point when Zach Evans, one of the best players in North Shore’s history, ran in a touchdown midway through the second quarter, the Rams missed the extra point that would have tied it. The Texans offense continued to struggle, but the defense and special teams kept the Rams pinned deep throughout the first half. The Texans added a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard pass from Boyle to Johnny Johnson II and Boyle finished the day with a strong day, throwing for 142 yards with two touchdowns while completing 19 of 28 passes.

The Rams cut the lead to two points late in the fourth quarter on a 3-yard Zach Evans touchdown, but weren’t able to tie it on the two point conversion as Houston came away with the 17-15 win.

Defensively, Myles Bryant helped his case for making the roster a lot in the game, making seven tackles, six of which were solo, while Desmond King may be on the borderline of the roster cuts after his muffed punt.

The Texans will open the season at Indianapolis against the Colts on Sept. 8 before returning home to play the Bears on Sept. 15. There are big expectations in Houston this year and the team can’t wait to get things going, especially with an offense that looks to be strong in both the pass and run game.

“Our biggest thing this year is we have to find balance this year,” Ryans said. “Week to week things are going to be different based on the hot hand and how defenses play us, but we can’t only rely on throwing the ball. But we also have a great core group of receivers and we are going to get guys involved so they can make plays. We feel like we can throw and run whenever we need to and a great group of coaches that can set guys up for success.”