Dameon Pierce

He's only a backup to Joe Mixon at this point and has no standalone fantasy value, but it would have been nice to see him at least carry a little bit more of the load in such a run-heavy game script for the Texans. Pierce should remain on benches barring surprising Mixon injury news in Week 8 against the Colts.

Pierce had a 54-yard touchdown scamper that effectively ended the competitive portion of this game, it looked like his ankle might have landed out of bounds on his last step, but officials ruled there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the touchdown. His other carries, obviously, were less effective. Pierce definitely appears to be the main backup in Houston behind Joe Mixon at this point, and he looked healthy in his return from his long-term hamstring injury.

It wasn't quite as easy as the box score would make it look -- 59 of Mixon's yards were on one long carry -- but he was a major upgrade over Cam Akers and the Texans salted away a 14-7 lead well enough that they felt comfortable letting Dameon Pierce get plenty of run. Mixon looked spry in his return after missing four games with an ankle injury, and should be on the RB1 borderline in Week 7 against the Packers.

He returns from a month-long hiatus after leaving Week 2's game against the Bears. Dameon Pierce (hamstring) is also active, and should serve as the main backup for Mixon on running downs. Mixon immediately slides into what appears to be a solid game script as the Texans are heavily favored against the Patriots in Drake Maye's first start.

Pierce was a full participant in both Thursday and Friday practices. Pierce is unlikely to be fantasy-relevant if Joe Mixon is also active but Pierce could mix in for 10 or so touches if Mixon is ruled out on game day.