HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- With the Texans' struggles to run the ball effectively, it seemed like the return of Duke Johnson would add an element to the ground game.
Johnson, who pairs with David Johnson as the Texans' primary duo out of the backfield, missed two games against the Ravens and Steelers with an ankle injury.
Since then, Duke Johnson had five carries for 24 yards, three catches for 21 yards against the Vikings; and just three carries for eight yards and one 11-yard catch in Sunday's win against the Jaguars.
Prior to leaving the opener in Kansas City because of the ankle injury, DukeJohnson had just one target and five carries for 14 yards.
His absence and relying so much on David Johnson against the Ravens and Steelers did not help the running game. But the Texans have not used Duke Johnson a lot since he returned from injury.
Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel on Monday described Duke as a good, all-around player who can play on any down, but the game plan sometimes dictates which back is featured more.
"I like what he brings to the table," Crennel said. "Sometimes when you put the game plan together you think about how you want to try to do things, and so sometimes the bigger back kind of fits in more. So, the bigger back got more opportunities this game. Next week it could be different, but we know what Duke brings to the table. We like what Duke brings to the table and just like in the receiving area, one guy wasn't getting as many balls coming his way until last week.
"Next week Duke might be the guy who shows up more in the running game and in the receiving game as well. It's hard to say. I mean, we try to get everybody involved as we can, but sometimes if a guy gets going and he's doing well, you try to feed that guy a little bit. I think that – I know all players want the ball, offensively, skill positions, they all want the ball. We can't get it to everybody all the time, so the game plan sometimes impacts that. What happens on the field sometimes impacts that. We like all our skill guys and we will try to get them touches during the game if we can."
