(SportsRadio 610) - Fresh off consecutive 100-plus yard rushing games for the first time in his career, Devin Singletary and the Texans will be playing in the biggest game the franchise has seen since the 2019 postseason this week.
The rights to first place within the AFC South will be on the line Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium when the Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars clash for the second time this season.
Since Texans starting running back Dameon Pierce was sidelined last month with an ankle injury after a loss to the Carolina Panthers, Singletary has found himself in familiar territory.
The fifth-year pro, who signed an under the radar one-year, $3.75 million pact with the Texans this past offseason, is not only leading his team in rushing through the first 11 weeks this season, but he's been the most productive running back in the NFL the last two weeks, combining for 262 yards on 52 attempts for an average of 5 yards per carry, including two touchdowns.
His 150-yard performance in the Texans' 30-27 win over the Bengals in week 10 earned him AFC Player of the Week honors.
Singletary led the Buffalo Bills in rushing during all of his first four seasons to start his career, so he's been more than just a capable back in the league for some time now.
After Singletary's production over the last two weeks, he's nearly surpassed the output that Pierce managed through seven games this season as the starter.
Pierce, who's missed the last three games and was a limited participant in last Friday's practice, could make his return this week, but head coach DeMeco Ryans said they'll have to wait and see how the week plays out for Pierce before they worry about usage.
"We'll see how Dameon goes, how he practices for the week," Ryans said. "It's encouraging to have him back. Dameon has been a really good player for us and to have Dameon and have Motor (Singletary), I think that's a good problem to have, and we'll figure it out."
At this point, that's the easy part for the Texans.
However, trying to figure out why the run game sputtered along through the first nine weeks this season may just have to go down as an unsolved mystery if Pierce returns and the run game doesn't miss a beat.
That would be the hope, at least.
While the run game was never anything to write home about, Singletary with limited opportunity had been the more effective rusher prior to Pierce's injury, gaining 183 yards on 49 attempts through the first seven weeks of the season, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.
During that same stretch, Pierce compiled 327 yards on 109 carries for an average of just 3 yards per attempt.
Singletary didn't even get a touch in the Texans' 21-19 week five loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Texans have had five different starting offensive lines this season, including four different starters at each position with the exception of right guard and right tackle, which most certainly could've been the main cause for the struggling run game through the first nine games.
Singletary said the recent success that he and the Texans offense have running the football is just a matter of better execution.
"Now we're clicking," Singletary said. "Everybody is doing what they've got to do to make things roll. That's what it is, just basically playing clean ball."
Whatever the case, one thing is for certain.
The Texans are a heck of a lot better with two capable backs than just one.
Recently, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said that when Pierce is able to return and contribute, he'll find a way to effectively allocate touches between Pierce and Singletary.
"I've kind of been saying this for a while, I really believe in having guys that can distribute carries," Slowik said. "I think that keeps you fresh as the game keeps going, especially through the course of a season.
"You have 30 carries in multiple games, that adds up fast, and we don't want to put that on any one player, so it really won't be any different than it was before. I know 'D.P.' is working his tail off to try to get back as soon as he can. When that happens, we'll roll."
