The Houston Texans’ philosophy with five running backs is to mix it up and commit to the run game with a variety of rushers.
However, in the 37-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium, Mark Ingram got 26 carries, the only Texans running back to do so. In fact, his 26 carries were 10 more than the Jaguars’ team total.
Coach David Culley after the win that Ingram getting that many carries was due to the pace of the game.
“We never look at it as when we’re playing with a lead,” said Culley. “We looked at it as this is how we wanted to play the game at that point, whether we were up or down.”
According to Culley, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and running backs coach Danny Barrett would mix in different backs and different personnel groups.
“Sometimes it’s Mark for three, sometimes it’s David (Johnson), all those guys are all getting their snaps and their carries,” Culley said.
Culley underscored that the reason the Texans were able to stick with the run game against the Jaguars was because of their consistency on offense and their ability to stay ahead of the chains and the Jaguars on the scoreboard.
Said Culley: “We were able today because we were able to stay on the field to be able to use all those guys and use all of our personnel groups, and that’s a sign of consistency on offense.”
The Texans take on the Cleveland Browns next Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium at 12:00 p.m. Central Time. Houston will have another opportunity to mix in their running backs as they go for their first 2-0 start since 2016.