The Houston Texans will have to rely on Duke Johnson to fill the starting running back role as David Johnson may be sidelined in Week 10 with a concussion.
The former 2016 All-Pro sustained a concussion against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 27-25 win at TIAA Bank Field. Johnson carried 16 times for 41 yards and a touchdown as he saw 52 snaps on offense.
Against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium, Johnson may see a greater workload against his former team, and quarterback Deshaun Watson has confidence in Johnson’s abilities.
“There’s really no difference between the two,” Watson said of the skillsets Johnson and Johnson have. “Both of them can catch. Both of them can run. Shifty, can make cuts and reads and things like that. Once one person is out, the other person just rolls in and it continues to flow. They’ve both been doing a great job.”
Johnson started twice for the Texans in 2019. In Week 14’s 38-24 loss to the Denver Broncos, Johnson rushed once for five yards and caught six passes for 40 yards. In Week 7’s 30-23 loss at the Indianapolis Colts, Johnson ran seven times for 34 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards.
“Duke came in last week taking over for David whenever he got injured, coming in rushing the ball and making some big plays and making some guys miss tackles,” said Watson.
Houston will need Johnson to provide that effort against the Browns and also cultivate ways to take the load off of Watson, who will be dodging Browns defensive end Myles Garrett all afternoon.