The Houston Texans rushing offense will undergo an interesting trial in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Starter Dameon Pierce may be sidelined with an ankle injury. The second-year running back has also had a frustrating start to the season with 109 carries for 327 yards and a touchdown. Pierce’s yards per carry are a paltry 3.0 compared to his 4.7 a season ago.
If the Texans are without Pierce, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is confident in the other backs in the stable — from Devin Singletary to Mike Boone and even Dare Ogunbowale and practice squadder Gerrid Doaks.
However, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik elaborated on the skills of one particular back when asked about his ability in Week 9 should Pierce not play.
“We really like what they do, and ‘Motor’ [Singletary] is one of the best at — if you just say regardless of athleticism — who is just one of the best football players you have on the team? Without a doubt, Devin Singletary is one of those guys.”
Pierce has yet to have a game over 4.0 yards per carry, and has yet to even approach 90 yards rushing. Houston’s ground game is also the third-worst in the NFL at 3.3 yards per carry and 10th-worst at 91.9 yards per game.
If the Texans are able to spark their run game with Singletary as the lead back, it could open the door for Pierce to take a backseat, especially when Singletary is already highly regarded.
Said Slowik: “He does everything. He does everything really well, he does it very smooth and with the right mindset. He’s aggressive in everything he does. He’s confident. I think he’s one of everyone’s favorite people on the team for that reason. So, we have the upmost confidence in really that whole group.”
Singletary has 49 carries for 183 yards and seven catches for 43 yards through seven games.
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