With David Montgomery out, the Texans’ backfield has tilted hard in Woody Marks’ direction, and Sunday’s matchup against the New York Giants at Reliant Stadium looks like the clearest sign yet that Houston is ready to ride the rookie more heavily.
Montgomery has been ruled out because of the groin injury that kept him out of practice this week. Jawhar Jordan is also unavailable, which leaves Marks as the lead option, with Dare Ogunbowale and Deuce Vaughn behind him for depth. Offensive coordinator Nick Caley has already said Marks should get a solid workload.
That lines up with what Houston has been doing anyway. Marks has quietly emerged as the team’s most productive runner through six games, putting up 205 rushing yards on 58 carries for a 3.5-yard average and two touchdowns.
He has also added 13 catches for 79 yards. Montgomery, meanwhile, has 138 rushing yards on 52 attempts with two scores of his own.
The volume has started to follow Marks lately. He logged 15 carries for 62 yards against Tennessee, then came back with 15 more carries for 56 yards in Houston’s 34-31 win over Jacksonville in London. Against the Jaguars, he also chipped in two receptions for 25 yards.
Those numbers won’t grab headlines by themselves, but they tell Houston exactly what it needs right now: stability. The Texans do not need Marks to turn into Derrick Henry overnight.
They need him to keep the offense on schedule, take some of the pressure off C.J. Stroud, and force New York to respect the run.
That matters even more with Houston trying to build on its two straight wins after an 0-4 start. Stroud threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in London, but the Texans can’t ask him to carry the load by himself every week.
A steady ground game changes the shape of everything around him. Play-action becomes more dangerous.
Defenders have to step up. Passing lanes open.
Sunday also gives Marks a chance to make his case for a bigger role beyond this one game. Montgomery still figures to matter once he’s healthy, but Marks has an opening to shift the conversation if he delivers against New York. A strong day - something in the 80-to-100-yard range with a touchdown and a few catches - could make Houston rethink how the carries get split when Montgomery returns.
Sometimes the opportunity comes because someone else gets hurt. Now it’s on Marks to take it.
And the ask doesn’t have to be complicated. Houston doesn’t need him to take over the entire offense. It needs him to be the reliable piece next to Stroud, and Sunday feels like the time to find out whether he can do exactly that.
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