Woody Marks’ absence almost proved costly for Texans

The Houston Texans, who are now 10-5 on the season and on the cusp of clinching a playoff spot for the third straight year, barely defeated the 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders at home by a final score of 23-21. Houston only scored one offensive touchdown, and a big reason why was, alongside other factors, a subpar running attack that was absent for large chunks of time. 

Rookie rusher Woody Marks has been a revelation for Houston this season, but he was inactive Sunday afternoon due to an ankle injury. Nick Chubb and Jawhar Jordan handled most of the snaps for the Texans. 

#Texans RB Woody Marks is expected to be inactive today, source said. So, expect plenty of Nick Chubb.

Houston only ran for 83 yards on the day, with Jordan accounting for 53 of those; considering that they also passed for less than 200 yards, it’s clear to see why the Texans struggled to generate anything offensively.

Las Vegas, who have had severe misfortunes in the running game all season long, generated 146 yards on the ground, and they were in the game until the very end, with the Texans only clinching the victory after an outstanding Nico Collins catch with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

As Houston preps for a postseason run, and with Joe Mixon nowhere in sight, Marks needs to be healthy and ready to go in order for the Texans and their offense to fulfill their potential. 

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