Is Woody Marks Hurt? Breaking Down Texans RB’s Slow Start in Week 17 vs. Chargers

The Houston Texans are the hottest team in the NFL. They are winners of seven straight games, have the best defense in the league, and are off to a great start against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17. They struck early with two long touchdowns, but haven’t scored since. Rookie RB Woody Marks hasn’t been effective and has been quiet in the first half.

Woody Marks’ Quiet Start

Marks has worked his way to being the main running back in the Houston backfield. Today, he’s been out there, but was being outperformed by Jawhar Jordan. Marks had six carries for 20 yards and one catch for four yards, while Jordan had 24 yards on only five carries, before Marks rattled off a big run with under a minute left in the first half.

The Texans were backed up after a red zone takeaway by their defense. Marks had a big 19-yard run on second down to get the Texans out of the danger zone. Unfortunately, CJ Stroud followed this up with an incompletion and interception to allow Los Angeles to cut the deficit.

Jordan started in Marks’ absence in Week 16, and the latter broke the 100-yard mark on the ground in Week 15. Jordan has shown that he deserves carries, too, and was outperforming Marks against Los Angeles until late in the second quarter.

The Texans need to feed Marks in the second half. After a big run late in the first half, this could be the spark that Marks needed. After a slow start, Marks can use this big play to get in a rhythm to get going on the ground.

Outside of the busted coverages by Los Angeles, the Houston passing attack hasn’t been too convincing. Using Marks on the ground will be pivotal to keeping their lead.

Marks is the 51st-ranked running back in PFSN’s RB Impact metric with an impact score of 67.8. He’s not the most efficient running back and struggles with inconsistency, but he’s shown flashes as a rookie to warrant the touches that he gets. A big second half from the rookie could be what Houston needs to punch their ticket to the playoffs.

Houston needs a win to clinch the last AFC playoff spot. They still have a chance to be the AFC South champions as well. They’ll need some help from other teams to take down the Jaguars, but if Houston doesn’t secure a massive win against Los Angeles, they will likely be the No. 7 seed and face a very tough road in the postseason.

Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.