The Houston Texans are going to be without star running back Joe Mixon for at least the first four games of the season. He was moved to the reserve/non-football injury list last week due to a foot injury in the offseason that continues to linger.
When asked about his RB’s status recently, Houston GM Nick Caserio said, “We’ll see. We’ll take it one day at a time.”
Caserio has suggested that Mixon will likely return in Week 5 or Week 7. He’ll be eligible to come off of the reserve/NFI list ahead of the Texans’ Oct. 5 game at Baltimore.
They have an open date in Week 6 that gives them two weeks to prepare for a game at Seattle on Monday Night Football on Oct. 20. Mixon will miss Sunday’s opener at the Los Angeles Rams, a Week 2 home game vs. Tampa Bay, an AFC South battle at Jacksonville and another division matchup at home vs. Tennessee.
The 29-year-old Mixon was a Pro-Bowler for the second time in his career during his debut campaign with Houston in 2024. The Texans signed the former Bengal to a three-year, $27 million contract in March of last year, one day after trading Cincinnati a 2024 seventh-round pick for the former second-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Mixon played in 14 regular-season games last year, producing 1,016 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns and a 4.1 yards-per-carry average. He added 36 receptions for 309 yards and one TD. For the third regular season in a row, Mixon had zero fumbles.
In two postseason games for the Texans, Mixon had 194 rushing yards, two TDs and a 4.5 YPC average. He caught three balls for 25 receiving yards as well.
Mixon went for 106 rushing yards and one TD in a 32-12 win over the Chargers. He had 88 rushing yards and one TD on 18 carries in a 23-14 loss at Kansas City.
Mixon had at least 101 yards rushing in seven of Houston’s first 10 games last season. It was the fifth time in his eight-year career that he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for rushing yards.
Mixon had his best year in 2021 when the Bengals went to the Super Bowl before losing a heartbreaker to the Rams. In 16 regular-season contests, he had 1,205 rushing yards, 13 TDs and a 4.1 YPC average. He also contributed 42 catches for 314 yards and three TDs.
During Cincinnati’s four-game Super Bowl run, Mixon had 262 rushing yards, one TD and a 3.9 YPC average. He added 18 receptions for 107 yards. Mixon ran for 72 yards on 15 totes in Super Bowl LVI.
Cincinnati made it to the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City again in 2022. Mixon produced 163 rushing yards, one TD and a 4.2 YPC average in those three postseason outings. He had eight catches for 50 receiving yards as well.
Mixon has played in at least 14 regular-season games in seven of his eight NFL seasons. The lone exception was 2020 when he was limited to six contests.
In 111 career regular-season games, Mixon has 7,428 rushing yards, 60 TDs and a 4.1 YPC average. He has 319 career receptions for 2,448 yards and 14 TDs. He has lost only four fumbles on 2,135 career touches during the regular season.
Without Mixon, veteran RB Nick Chubb is expected to start Sunday at the Los Angeles Rams. Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale will be his backups, and rookie Woody Marks might be active.
Pierce was Houston’s fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft with the #107 selection overall. In the first nine games of his career, the University of Florida product produced 772 rushing yards.
After a 139-yard effort vs. Philadelphia on Thursday Night Football on Nov. 3, Pierce was in the discussion for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He didn’t hurt his candidacy the following week when he had 94 rushing yards on 17 carries and 28 receiving yards on a pair of catches in a 24-16 loss at the New York Giants.
However, Pierce had just 16 combined rushing yards on 15 attempts in back-to-back losses vs. Washington and at Miami. Nevertheless, he still enjoyed an outstanding rookie campaign with 939 rushing yards, four TDs and a 4.3 YPC average. Pierce also had 30 receptions for 165 yards and one TD.
In 2023, Pierce was the starter in September and October, but he lost his job to RB Devin Singletary when he missed three games in November. He had only 416 rushing yards, two TDs and a pedestrian 2.9 YPC average in 14 regular-season contests. Pierce did have a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD and 13 catches for 101 yards.
In 11 games last season, Pierce had 293 rushing yards, two TDs and a 7.3 YPC average in 11 regular-season games. He averaged 37.7 yards on nine kickoff returns.
The 29-year-old Chubb was Cleveland’s second-round pick with the #35 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. He produced 996, 1,494, 1,067, 1,259 and 1,525 rushing yards in his first five years in the league. However, a devastating knee injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season seemingly put the rest of his career in doubt.
But after sitting out the first seven games for the Browns last year, he returned to play eight games for a team that finished with an abysmal 3-14 record. Chubb had 332 rushing yards, three TDs and a 3.3 YPC average. He had five catches for 31 yards and one TD.
In 85 career regular-season outings, Chubb has 6,843 rushing yards, 51 TDs and a 5.1 YPC average. He also has 128 career catches for 1,042 yards and five TDs.
Marks was Houston’s fourth-round pick out of USC in the 2025 NFL Draft.
As of Wednesday morning, most books had the L.A. Rams installed as three-point home favorites vs. Houston. The total was 44 points, and the Texans were +140 on the money line at both Circa and the Westgate SuperBook.
FanDuel has Houston as the +115 ‘chalk’ to win the AFC South. The next-shortest odds belong to Jacksonville (+260), Indianapolis (+340) and Tennessee (+750).
The Texans have +2700 (or 27/1) odds to win Super Bowl LX at FanDuel. Those are the 14th-shortest odds on the board.