David Johnson may have collected 96 yards on 17 carries in the Houston Texans’ 30-14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium, but the running back believes he can perform much better.
Johnson, who had 5.6 yards per carry and his longest rush of 29 yards, thinks there were carries that could have been better.
“I ran the ball pretty well,” Johnson said. “Still had some runs I wish I could have got back, a couple of them. Just trying to do too much sometimes instead of just relaxing, being patient and letting our guys up front do their jobs and me just being patient running the ball.”
Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was impressed enough with Johnson’s performance to that point in the game. Before quarterback Deshaun Watson’s 28-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandin Cooks that was the nail in the Jaguars’ coffin with 4:46 to play, Johnson took two carries for two yards and four yards. Johnson was also the target of a third-down pass with four yards to go at the Jacksonville 28.
When the Texans turned the Jaguars over on downs with 1:38 to play, Johnson took a carry 11 yards to burn Jacksonville’s first timeout. On the next play, Johnson rushed for 29 yards to start shoveling dirt on Jacksonville’s grave.
Johnson appreciated the belief Kelly had in him in the four-minute offense.
Said Johnson: “At the end of the day, that four-minute is very huge for an offense, especially with our defense being on the field and doing what they did at the end of the game. We really wanted to give them a break, and it really just made me feel confident that they gave me the ability, the opportunity to run the clock out, run the ball, and I just wish I would have capitalized and score the touchdown at the end.”
The Texans have improved their record to 1-4. With 11 games to go, Houston has much more to work on, and Johnson will have plenty of opportunities to become a better runner in the Texans’ offense.