HOUSTON -- If coach Bill O’Brien’s balanced offense is going to work this season, the Houston Texans’ run game needs to be more consistent.

The Texans have focused on giving running back Lamar Miller many opportunities, but though he is adding up the yardage, he is averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. Miller said he thinks he has been too patient at times, and needs to be more aggressive.

Lamar Miller is fourth in the NFL with 269 rushing yards but is averaging just 3.6 yards per carry. Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

“Sometimes I am a little bit too patient, and I just have to be more decisive,” Miller said. “Just be aggressive. The home run is not going to always be there. Just have to take two or three yards and just pound the defense. The big ones will come.”

In three games this season, Miller has 269 yards on 74 attempts, but his longest run is 15 yards. He does not have a touchdown yet. According to offensive coordinator George Godsey, the offense has to do a better job of sustaining blocks once Miller gets past the initial clearance, which will allow him to have longer runs.

“He does a nice job of, if there’s nothing inside the tackles, breaking it to the outside,” Godsey said. “He’s had plenty of those runs. Then it’s a matter of sustaining the blocks, both on the perimeter and inside.”

When asked to evaluate how the offensive line has played and has helped the run so far, Godsey said the group's technique has improved.

“As a group, it’s going to get better each week, and it has to," Godsey said. "Part of the deal is running the football. The double teams, the individual blocks, maintaining their lane, whatever gap they’re responsible for. The technique is essentially the number one thing.”

The line, which lost second-round pick center Nick Martin during training camp, will get left tackle Duane Brown back either Sunday against the Titans or the following week in Minnesota. But, Godsey said, the lack of consistency from the running game is not just on the offensive line and Miller.

“The running game is an 11-man project out there,” Godsey said. “It’s not only just the line but the quarterback directing the receivers and also the receivers doing their responsibility, what they’re taught.”

And though the running game hasn’t taken off yet, Miller said he thinks they are almost there.

“I think we’re very close,” Miller said. “I think I have to do a good job at the second level, making guys miss. We just have to be more consistent on the offensive side of the ball in general. But the time will come. We’re just getting better every day and trying to take it to the game.”