With Joe Mixon ($6,900; ankle) remaining sidelined at practice Wednesday, it is likely that the back misses his third straight game this Sunday, leaving the Texans with Dare Ogunbowale ($4,800), Cam Akers ($5,500) and Dameon Pierce ($4,900; hamstring) in their backfield, as the latter is expected to play for the first time since Week 1, per DeMeco Ryans.
Akers led the way for Houston initially with Mixon sidelined, but after some underwhelming showings, the Texans relied on Ogunbowale more in this past Sunday’s win over the Bills. The back saw a season-high 15 carries and he caught all seven of his targets, while logging 68% of the snaps and running a route on 62% of his team’s drop backs, all of which set season highs for Ogunbowale.
Akers on the other hand saw nine carries and caught two of his five targets while logging 32% of the snaps — which is the lowest snap rate he has seen with Mixon inactive. Akers ran a route on just 26% of Houston’s drop backs. In the red zone, both Ogunbowale and Akers saw one carry apiece.
Akers did score a touchdown, but Ogunbowale was more effective overall, with 87 scrimmage yards, compared to only 47 for Akers. Both players have struggled as rushers this season, but Ogunbowale is far more effective in the passing game and gets more usage in that department, giving him a higher ceiling than Akers.
This season, Ogunbowale has been targeted on 20% of his routes and he has caught 94% of his targets, while Akers has been targeted on 17% of his routes and has only caught 57% of his targets.
All that being said, Pierce’s expected return will likely make this a three-man committee and a situation to avoid entirely in this low scoring setting vs. the Patriots – this game’s O/U of 38 points on the DraftKings Sportsbook is the third-lowest of Week 6. Ogunbowale is the favorite to lead this backfield in touches and the best choice of the three if you’re desperate, but his workload is likely to decrease with Pierce in the mix, limiting his upside.
Start or Sit Dare Ogunbowale? Sit.
Start or Sit Cam Akers? Sit.
Start or Sit Dameon Pierce? Sit.
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