Alfred Blue Is Key To The Houston Texans Week 11 Win
By Michael Woolfson
@Bigwoolf5
Troy Taormina-USA Today Sports
The Houston Texans have been struggling lately, losing four of their past five games. This week they go to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Browns, who have been quite the opposite, winning five of their last six.
The Texans need a win in the worst way if they want to remain relevant in the playoff picture, and in this game Alfred Blue will be a huge factor and could ultimately decide whether they win or lose.
Arian Foster, the Texans’ starting running back, is a game-time decision on Sunday after he injured his groin in the team’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Luckily for Foster and the Texans, they had a bye in between that game and this one. Otherwise, he would definitely be missing a game.
All that said, even if Foster does play, he more than likely will be very limited, which is where Blue comes into the picture. Blue isn’t nearly as talented as Foster, and hasn’t had as much success so far this season, but this is all about the matchup.
Despite their reputation as a very good defensive team, the Browns’ run defense is one of the worst in the league. They rank 28th in the league in opposing rush yards per game, while the Texans rank fourth in rush yards per game. The Texans’ offensive line has been able to open up holes for whoever runs the ball. In Blue’s start against the New York Giants in Week 3, he carried the ball 13 times for 78 yards, which is a six yards-per-carry average.
If the Texans are going to win this game against the NFC North division leaders, they are going to have to rely on their ground game, and due to Foster’s injury, that might mean a lot of Blue.
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