David

Montgomery

This will be the second game in a row that Montgomery has missed due to the groin injury he suffered in Week 5. Woody Marks, who totaled 17 touches in last week’s win over the Jaguars will again lead the Texans’ backfield. He has averaged 18.0 touches per game over the last two weeks and will be a volume-based RB2 with a chance at significant upside. Safeties Jalen Pitre (AC joint) and S Reed Blankenship (concussion) will also miss this week’s game against the Giants, putting the Texans down a handful of starters with one game left before their Week 8 bye.

Like we said yesterday, Montgomery is still seemingly in the week-to-week camp. Woody Marks and Dare Ogunbowale will likely split backfield touches this week. The Texans used both Marks and Jawhar Jordan last week, but Jordan suffered an injured reserve-worthy injury. Marks should be in starting lineups, but he may be more of a FLEX than a reliable RB2. Ogunbowale is a low-floor PPR dart throw.

We were told early last week that Montgomery is week-to-week. Today’s absence suggests he is still week-to-week and will likely be ruled out again on Friday, though we do not know that for sure. We will provide an update before then if his status changes. In the meantime, Woody Marks will get the start again this week, potentially with less touch competition. Jawhar Jordan totaled 50 yards and a touchdown on seven total touches last week, but was surprisingly placed on injured reserve today. Dare Ogunbowale remains a receiving factor, though.

We already knew that Montgomery was considered week-to-week, so this is unsurprising. Woody Marks will start for however long Montgomery is sidelined. The Jaguars field one of the NFL’s best run defenses, but Marks ceded just one snap to Dare Ogunbowale last week. Theoretically, he should remain in a near-full-time role, elevating him to the RB2/FLEX tier despite the tough matchup.

Ryans said Woody Marks “will carry the load” for the team while Montgomery is sidelined. It’s been a tough start to the season for Montgomery, who scored three times in Week 1 but has been locked out of the end zone ever since while averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per touch. Marks has been slightly more efficient than Montgomery this season, but the Texans’ running game as a whole has left much to be desired. Marks’ expected workload makes him worth a waiver wire claim where available, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect anything more than RB3 levels of production at this time. The Texans will take on the Jaguars in London in Week 6.

It sounds like Montgomery is in danger of missing both the Jaguars and Giants games before Houston’s Week 8 bye, assuming this is just a mild injury. Woody Marks will take over as Houston’s lead back for the time being and could be in for sizable role given how no other back received a snap or touch once Montgomery went down in Week 5.

He finishes with five carries for 11 yards. Initially questionable to return in the second quarter, Montgomery was ruled out after halftime. This could open some major space for Woody Marks to have a strong role going forward. We’ll keep an eye out for updates after the game, but it doesn’t look good for Montgomery.

He had five carries for 11 yards before leaving in the middle of the second quarter. Woody Marks will handle lead back duties for the moment.

The hook-and-ladder claims another box score. The Texans simply can’t run the ball. Woody Marks is a little faster at making something out of nothing, but it’s the same nothing for him. Montgomery should at least have game pace in his favor against the Titans in Week 5, but boy is it hard to trust him as more than a FLEX play right now.

The only official goal-line carry of the game went to Woody Marks in the two-minute drill. Montgomery added one of the dumbest-looking running back passes on first-and-goal in recent memory, though that play was bailed out as something like five different Colts committed DPI on Jaylin Noel in the end zone. Montgomery’s best play of the game was a minus-1 yard carry in his own end zone where he pulled out the entire stop/start arsenal to prevent a safety. It’s beginning to give RB3 vibes as we look ahead to Week 4’s game against the Cowboys.