Tytus Howard made his first career NFL start at left tackle when the Houston Texans hosted the New York Jets on Sunday.

"We just felt that was the best matchup for us this week with who they were playing at the end," Head Coach David Culley said. "And we felt like Tytus would be better outside than inside."

In the 21-14 loss, the Texans offense scored two touchdowns on back-to-back drives in the second quarter and were 6-of-14 on third down. The offensive line also struggled, giving up five sacks in the game.

With Howard at left tackle, nine-year veteran Lane Taylor started inside at left guard. The Texans offensive line has been without three starters, Laremy Tunsil, Marcus Cannon and Justin Britt for the past three games. All three are on the Reserve/Injured list, but Britt and Tunsil could return sometime this season. Until then, Howard could see more time at left tackle.

"It's been week-to-week," Culley said. "It depends on the matchups we've got, and once we get some of our guys back again, we'll be able to keep him inside, but right now, we felt like he gave us the best matchup outside to play tackle."

Under the new coaching staff, the third-year offensive lineman shifted inside to left guard this season after starting at right tackle for the past two seasons. The Texans' 2019 first-round draft pick started at both left and right tackle as a three-year starter at Alabama State.

"Tytus is a very intelligent football player," Culley said. "He can play multiple positions. He's got very good football instincts. He's shown that he can go inside and outside and go left and go right. And obviously, he's a pretty good player, and we're able to do that."

The Texan will host the Colts on December 5 at NRG Stadium in Week 13.Kickoff is set for noon CT. Click here for tickets