The Houston Texans will field their star running back Dameon Pierce against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12. At this point in the season, this will have huge playoff implications given that the Jacksonville Jaguars are one game ahead for the number one spot in the AFC South.
Displacement of Texans’ Replacement Running Back Devon Singletary
While Dameon PIerce was the only positive component of a disastrous 2022 Texans team, the focus of the team has changed this season and Pierce has struggled to adjust. Pierce has only run the ball for 327 rushing yards on 109 carries, averaging a below average 3.0 yards per carry. He has only been able to find the end zone once this season as the team has shifted to an elite passing offense over impressive rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Devon Singelary on the other hand has rushed for 471 rushing yards this season on 114 carries, averaging an excellent 4.1 yards per carry. Singletary has also had terrific back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Bengals while they still sported elite quarterback Joe Burrow in his prime. The other game was against a struggling Arizona Cardinals but these performances have been critical to keep the Texans in playoff contention.
What to expect from Houston Texans Running Back Dameon Pierce against the Jaguars?
While Pierce is making a return to the starting lineup, his role might have dramatically changed after Singletary’s emergence in the past few weeks. At this point, it is widely expected to see the Texans move to a running back-by-committee approach with Singletary and Pierce splitting carries. Not only will the committee strategy dramatically hurt his numbers but the Texans have very quickly shifted to having one of the strongest passing offenses in the NFL.
Another issue for the Texans running game is that they go up against a Jaguars defense that has only given up 870 rushing yards this season, good enough for second in the NFL. The Jaguars have an elite defensive front seven of high draft picks across the board including 2022 first overall pick Travon Walker, 2022 27th overall pick Devon Lloyd and 2019 seventh overall pick Josh Allen. The Texans will struggle to run the ball against this elite front seven and the Texans and Dameon Pierce should temper their expectations of their rushing offense.
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