HOUSTON – It was tough sledding for the Texans’ running game Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts’ stout defense.
It wasn’t the type of performance the Texans hoped for as they had high hopes following an encouraging preseason after having the statistically lowest ranked ground attack a year ago.
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The Texans managed to gain just 77 rushing yards on 28 carries for a 2.8 average per run during a 20-20 tie at NRG Stadium as rookie starting running back Dameon Pierce was limited to 33 yards on 11 carries for an average of 3.0 yards per run while veteran backup Rex Burkhead gained 40 yards on 14 carries for a 2.9 average. Both backs’ longest run was eight yards against the NFL’s 10th-ranked run defense from last season.
Pierce got the start, but had just 16 yards on five carries in the first half. In the fourth quarter, Pierce had three runs for 10 yards. In overtime, Pierce had zero touches. And Burkhead was called upon on 3rd-and-1 instead of the powerful rookie fourth-round draft pick and was stuffed for a loss of two yards.
That run preceded coach Lovie Smith’s decision to punt and play for the tie instead of going for the win on fourth down.
Why Burkhead instead of Pierce?
“As we look at the plays now, Rex got a chance to carry the ball more,” Smith said of Burkhead, who caught five passes for 30 yards on eight targets as Pierce caught one pass for six yards on one target. “Passing plays, passing situations, Rex was our lead back in that situation, so that’s kind of what happened. In an ideal world, of course, when you have a lead, you would like for that not to be the case, but once they came back at the end, that’s when the numbers started changing a little bit.”
Why punt at all?
“It felt like we had two plays,” Smith said. “It felt like we were in two-down territory before the loss.”
A Senior Bowl all-star game participant who beat out Marlon Mack for the starting job after rushing for 86 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries during the preseason.
Pierce wasn’t discouraged by the lack of productivity.
“I felt like we did good, especially after we made adjustments at halftime,” Pierce said. “I feel like everything we did came down to one block and one cut. There’s nothing to point fingers about in regards to that. We were pretty solid in the run game outside of a few things we could have done different. Everything looks different on film when you slow it down.
“It felt good. That’s all I needed. Coach (Danny Barrett) was talking to me. He was like, ‘Just one cut away.’ Once I get to making those cuts, those actual game-breaking cuts, we’re gonna be rolling.”
Aaron Wilson is a Pro Football Network reporter and a contributor to KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.