Buddy Howell isn’t regarded as a primary rusher for the Houston Texans. The running back, in his first year with the team in 2018, played mostly special teams. In fact, he saw no snaps as an offensive player as a rookie.
But, in the preseason, that’s shifted. The Texans trotted out Howell for an early fourth-quarter drive. Houston fed Howell the rock, and he showed he deserves it. In his first drive, the back turned seven attempts into 43 yards and a touchdown.
The highlight of his first drive came on a 13-yard scamper and a 1-yard touchdown punch where he burst through a hole into the Detroit Lions defense.
In training camp, the Texans have been rushing just about every back but Howell. Lamar Miller, Karan Higdon, Damarea Crockett, Taiwan Jones, and Josh Ferguson have received the bulk of the snaps — with Duke Johnson out (hamstring). But, his impressive first-drive performance may change that.
