The Houston Texans have some serious questions to answer after losing in the final seconds of Monday night’s game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dropping the first two games is almost a death sentence for any team looking to be a contender, and it requires some significant changes to turn things around.
Fortunately, an obvious area of improvement resides in the Houston backfield. Dare Ogunbowale has served as a change of pace back for the Texans the past four years, catching 43 passes for 337 yards and a touchdown over 48 games. But his performance on Monday night may have signaled a changing of the guard and perhaps an opportunity for another back to take his place.
Dare Ogunbowale’s Struggles Could Open Door for Texans Rookie Woody Marks
Ogunbowale isn’t known for his success as a runner, seeing he's managed just 3.4 yards per carry during his time with the Texans. But even as a receiving back, the 31-year-old wasn’t up to the task on Monday night.
According to Pro Football Focus, Ogunbowale played 10 offensive snaps on Monday night. Seven of those snaps were protecting C.J. Stroud and they ended with three pressures and a sack allowed. The performance also earned Ogunbowale a single-digit pass-blocking grade (6.6) and came without a single target out of the backfield.
Ogunbowale is a special teams captain and has performed admirably in that regard with a 65.4 grade this season. But his offensive role needs to be questioned after posting a 29.6 overall grade and an 18.4 pass-blocking grade over the first two games. It would be one thing to forge ahead if the Texans didn’t have a replacement, but it seems like they have a viable option in rookie running back Woody Marks.
A fourth-round pick out of USC, Marks had elite production as a receiving back, making 261 catches for 1,546 yards and five touchdowns over five seasons. He also made an impact early in Monday’s game, making a 37-yard reception that set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal in the first quarter. But the biggest thing here is the pass protection, which may be keeping Marks from completely seizing Ogunbowale’s role.
Marks struggled in that regard in college, posting a 50.3 overall grade on 78 snaps at USC last season. He also allowed a hurry in one of his four blocking snaps during his debut against the Rams but was clean on his two opportunities in protection against the Buccaneers.
As Ogunbowale has shown, the bar is low and Marks could get a shot if he improves in that regard. But Monday night’s performance shows that it needs to happen sooner than later and it could happen when Marks and the Texans battle the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3.