HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans entered Week 10 searching for answers.
Their rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud, was off to a stellar start, but their rushing attack had yet to click. It had yet to complement the passing game, ranking 27th at 87 yards per game.
Still, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans continued to preach that the ground game was close to breaking out, and it did, in a big way, in that Week 10 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. With starting running back Dameon Pierce sidelined in the last three games with an ankle injury after starting the first seven games, Devin Singletary had a banner day.
Singletary rushed for a career-high 150 yards in Week 10 and followed that up with 112 yards Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals as part of Houston's three-game winning streak. Those two performances mark the only time the Texans have had someone rush for 100 yards in a game this season, and it's the first time a Texan had done it since Pierce in Week 9 of last season.
"[Early in] the season, we were close on a lot of things," Singletary said Monday. "It could have been one block here, one missed read there, and that throws stuff off. Now we're clicking. Everybody doing what they gotta do to make things roll. Playing clean ball."
In the last two weeks, Singletary has the most carries (52) and rushing yards (262) in the NFL while being tied for the most touchdowns (two). It's the type of production the Texans hoped Singletary could provide when they signed him in the offseason.
The Texans' spike in production has coincided with the absence of Pierce. He practiced last Friday for the first time in two weeks but remained unavailable on game day.
Pierce is trending toward returning for a potentially pivotal matchup against the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars (7-3) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, NRG Stadium, CBS). The Texans (6-4) are only one game back in the standings and shooting for a season sweep after knocking off the Jaguars in Week 3.
"We'll see how Dameon goes -- how he practices for the week," Ryans said Monday. "It's encouraging to have him back. Dameon has been a really good player for us and to have Dameon and [Singletary], I think that's a good problem to have, and we'll figure it out."
Pierce received the bulk of the carries to start the season, but with the lack of production -- he's averaging 3.0 yards per carry compared to Singletary's 4.1 -- Singletary received more carries. In the Texans' last two games with the duo versus the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers, Pierce had 25 carries (80 yards) and Singletary 22 (88 yards).
Throughout the season, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik preferred a running back-by-committee approach. So when the Texans get Pierce back in the lineup, it appears that's the direction the team will head.
"Yeah, nothing has changed," Slowik said. "I've kind of been saying this for a while -- I really believe in having guys that can distribute carries. I think that keeps you fresh as the game keeps going, especially through the course of a season. I know [Singletary] had 30 carries last game. You have 30 carries in multiple games, that adds up fast, and we don't want to put that on any one player."
It won't be easy against the Jaguars, though, as they allow the fourth-fewest rushing yards allowed per game (87), and they held the Texans to 86 rushing yards in their first meeting.
"I know [Pierce] is working his tail off to try to get back as soon as he can," Slowik said. "When that happens, we'll roll."