The Houston Texans finally found some juice on the ground in Week 6, and they did it without David Montgomery in the lineup.
Against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston ran for 114 yards and averaged better than 4.5 yards per carry, easily its best rushing output of the season by the numbers. Woody Marks and Jawhar Jordan handled the load, and the Texans produced that result even though Jacksonville came in as the NFL’s top run defense statistically.
That’s what makes the week so hard to ignore: Houston’s most productive day rushing the ball came with Montgomery sidelined by the groin injury he suffered in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans.
So the obvious question follows. Is this offense actually better off without Montgomery taking the lead in snaps?
The answer isn’t simple, but the concern is real. Through five games in his first season in Houston, Montgomery has not matched the expectations that followed his Week 1 burst, when he scored three touchdowns.
He has 52 carries for 138 yards, a 2.7 yards-per-carry average, and has been stuck under 30 rushing yards per game. He’s also posted fewer than 2.0 yards before and after contact, something that’s happened only one other time in his career.
In the passing game, he has just seven catches for 67 yards.
For a player the Texans brought in to steady the backfield as a power option opposite Woody Marks, that return hasn’t been close to good enough outside of his debut against the Buffalo Bills. Montgomery hasn’t looked like the most explosive runner in the room, and the efficiency just hasn’t been there.
At the same time, the Texans’ offensive line hasn’t exactly made life easy for him. Still, the broader picture got tougher to brush off after Week 6, because Houston just showed it can run the ball effectively against a quality front without him.
Marks has been the brighter piece. He has 205 rushing yards on the season at 3.5 yards per carry and is one touchdown shy of Montgomery’s season total of three. He’s brought speed, he’s contributed as a receiver, and he’s coming off his best game of the year from Houston’s overseas trip to London.
Jawhar Jordan made the most of his chance too. Elevated from the practice squad for the week, he turned six carries into 43 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville, a performance that strengthens his case for a spot on the 53-man roster if the Texans decide they want to move away from featuring Montgomery so heavily.
That doesn’t mean Montgomery is already out of the picture. It may simply be too soon to make that call, especially while he’s still working back from the groin injury that kept him out last week and could leave him sidelined again depending on how practice goes this week. Once he’s healthy, Houston can give him another shot to reclaim the role it had in mind when it made the move to bring him in.
But if the Texans keep moving the ball on the ground without him, or if the run game looks sluggish once he returns, the debate will only get louder. And if that happens, the trade that brought Montgomery to Houston for a fourth-round pick and Juice Scruggs will come under even sharper scrutiny.
In Other News...
Texans Secondary Suddenly Faces A Week 7 Problem
The Texans came out of their Week 6 loss to the Jaguars with a new concern in the back end of their defense, and it lands at a tough moment with the Giants coming to town. Safety Reed Blankenship entered concussion protocol after leaving the game, adding another layer of uncertainty to a secondary that already has to stay sharp in a hurry.
Azeez Al-Shaair did return from his groin injury and is expected to be fine for Week 7, but the bigger question now is how Houston patches together the safety spot if Blankenship cannot go. Veteran M.J. Stewart is in line as a possible replacement, which would put a familiar face in a bigger role at a time when the Texans can least afford another breakdown on the back end. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Suddenly Face A Bigger Decision Than Their Winning Streak
Two straight wins after an 0-4 start have changed the mood around the Texans in a hurry, and the chatter around the team has moved well beyond simply salvaging the season. C.J. Stroud has been at the center of that shift, with his play drawing fresh praise as Houston climbs back into the conversation in various power rankings. The broader picture is more complicated, though, because the Texans still have clear strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the ball.
Thats what makes the next stretch so interesting for Houston. The front office is not just watching the standings now, it is also weighing whether to add help before the trade deadline while keeping an eye on looming contract talks for Stroud. The winning streak has bought the Texans some breathing room, but it has also raised the stakes on every decision from here on out. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face A Real Test As Stroud Tries To Keep Rolling
The Texans come home for Week 7 carrying some momentum after back-to-back road wins, and C.J. Stroud has been a big reason for that push. He has been one of the leagues most productive passers this season, ranking second in passing yards, and Houston suddenly has the look of a team that can win in a variety of ways if its offense keeps humming.
New York is about to provide a very different kind of test. The Giants have been stout against the pass, sitting fifth in the NFL in limiting passing yards, which makes this a useful measuring stick for Stroud and a Houston passing game that has been rolling but not yet fully settled against elite resistance. The betting market reflects that skepticism, with the Giants drawing the spread and the total pointing toward a higher-scoring game. [Read more 🡒]