Tag: Dameon Pierce injury

Will Dameon Pierce play today? Latest injury updates for Texans RB

Will Dameon Pierce be in the Houston Texans’ backfield for Week 9’s matchup against the New York Jets?

With the Houston Texans on a short week, current injured players might be out again if not fully cleared.

That seems to be the case for third-year running back Dameon Pierce, who has been limited since his breakout game in Week 6 on the road against the New England Patriots.

Will Pierce suit up on “Thursday Night Football” when the Texans take on the New York Jets? Here’s what happened and his current status entering Thursday morning.

Dameon Pierce injury update

While Pierce played in Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, he was limited to just one carry for four yards. Against the Green Bay Packers in Week 7, only rushed for four yards on two attempts.

The Texans ruled Pierce out with a groin issue during this week’s practice. He will not play in Thursday’s game against the AFC East franchise, meaning it’ll be more of the Joe Mixon show. 

This is the second time this season that Pierce has dealt with a lingering lower-body issue. After Week 1’s road win over the Colts, the former Texans’ starter missed four games with a hamstring injury before returning against New England.

How long will Dameon Pierce be out?

Lower body injuries are tough to determine since it’s all based on the movement of the body. Pierce could return next Sunday against the Detroit Lions if he’s healthy entering Monday’s practice.

He also could find himself on the injured reserve if the issue worsens, thus leading to him missing at least the next four games.

Dameon Pierce stats

Pierce has flashed the potential to be a decent No. 2 option behind Mixon this season. In four games he’s rushed for 98 yards, though 54 came on a touchdown run in the fourth quarter against New England.

Pierce is averaging 7.0 yards per attempt on 14 carries.

Texans RB depth chart

With Pierce out, Mixon likely will see at least 90% of reps. Last week, the Texans totaled 29 rushing plays, with Mixon recording 25 carries. He’s been the offensive backbone since returning from injury in Week 6.

Houston also recently elevated running back J.J. Taylor to the active roster in place of Stefon Diggs, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Sunday’s win over the Colts.  Here’s the rest of the running backs on the active roster:

  • Joe Mixon
  • Dare Ogunbowale
  • J.J. Taylor

Ogunbowale is often the change-of-pace back on third down and should see action in the passing game. He helped Houston secure a 24-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 with his 1-yard touchdown reception with 18 seconds remaining.

Kickoff from MetLife Stadium is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CT.

Texans RB Dameon Pierce finally breaks out in win vs. Patriots

Dameon Pierce looked like his rookie form while high-tailing it to the end zone in Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots.

Joe Mixon’s performance against the New England Patriots wasn’t the only prominent running back making headlines for the Houston Texans Sunday afternoon.

Dameon Pierce showed off that same spark that made him a fan-favorite during his rookie season as Houston picked up the 41-21 win over the New England Patriots. After missing four games due to a hamstring injury, Pierce seemed to kick it into a new gear.

Pierce, a third-year runner from Florida, rushed for 76 yards and scored on a 54-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach. On eight carries, he averaged 9.5 yards per attempt.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was Pierce’s explosiveness, something that had been missing since setting the tone during his rookie season. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats,  Pierce reached 20.72 mph at top speed on his 54-yard score.

The touchdown run marked the second-longest attempt of his career, only to be a 75-yard touchdown run over the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022.

“Dameon made the most of his opportunities and there you go, he has a big explosive run for a touchdown, one of the best runs we’ve seen him have since we’ve been here,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said postgame.

Entering Week 6, Houston ranked 23rd in rushing behind performances from Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale. Mixon, who finished with 132 total yards and two touchdowns, was out for three games with an ankle injury.

After Sunday’s performance, the Texans rank 13th in rushing, averaging 118.8 yards per game and 4.5 yards per run. They averaged 6.9 yards per attempt in Sunday’s win and totaled five rushing first downs.

As for Pierce, the sophomore slump could be a thing of the past. While he finished with 416 rushing yards, his contact total dropped from 4.3 as a rookie to 2.9.

Through two games, Pierce is averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. Even if you were to take out the 54-yard score, he’d still be averaging just around 4.0 yards per run.

The Texans travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers next Sunday at noon CT.

Texans receive postive update on RB Dameon Pierce

Dameon Pierce might be back on the field for the Houston Texans for the first time since Week 1 this weekend.

The Houston Texans could be getting a piece of their ground game back in time for Sunday’s matchup against the New England Patriots.

Running back Dameon Pierce was a limited participant at practice Wednesday afternoon. This has been the first time in three weeks that Pierce has taken part in contact drills after suffering a hamstring injury in Week 1’s win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said that barring a setback, Pierce will play at Gillette Stadium when the Texans take on the 1-4 Patriots.

Pierce, who missed the previous four games, returned to practice last Friday but later was ruled out before Sunday’s inactive list was released to the public. He’s expected to be the No. 2 runner behind Pro Bowler Joe Mixon, but both have been sidelined for the past three weeks with lower-body extremities.

Pierce could potentially move into a vital role in Houston’s backfield this weekend if Mixon is unavailable versus the Patriots, though he also could split reps with Dare Ogunbowale and Cam Akers. After losing starting reps last season to Devin Singletary, Pierce has been limited on the ground.

In Week 1’s win over the Colts, Pierce finished with 16 yards off three carries. The Texans still believe there’s hope he can be an essential part of the offensive game plan.

Kickoff for Week 6 is scheduled for noon CT.