Lovie Smith stands behind running back Dameon Pierce amid fumbling issues

The Houston Texans fought hard in Week 10 against the New York Giants but fell short of victory. Now stuck at a 1-7-1 record with just eight games to play, the team is in a freefall that doesn’t seem like it will let up any time soon.

Among the issues that plagued the Texans on Sunday were turnovers, which played a key role in their defeat at the hands of the Giants. Running back Dameon Pierce coughed up a fumble on a sloppy play in the red zone early in the matchup, which flipped possession and took the wind out of Houston’s sails.

Head coach Lovie Smith addressed the play in the team’s postgame press conference and pointed out that it was a crucial error. However, he stopped short of criticizing his star rookie for the mistake and seems prepared to take the occurrence in stride as a learning opportunity,

“Stuff happens,” Smith said. “That’s all I’m going to say. I’m definitely not going to criticize Dameon Pierce knowing what he’s been doing for our team, but you’ve got to protect that football, yes. He knew it, we know it, can’t do that, but he played the way he normally plays – and that’s giving his all every time he has an opportunity to. More of us need to play as well as Dameon has played throughout this year.”

While some might have wanted Smith to be a bit more rigid in his response, given Pierce’s production in the Texans’ offense, a slap on the wrist seems warranted. Pierce accounted for nearly 100 yards with his hard-nosed running against New York, and if it weren’t for his contributions, Houston would’ve likely lost by double digits.

For this game to have even been close should be considered a success for the Texans, and Pierce played a major role in keeping Houston in the mix down to the final whistle. Watch for him to continue improving his game and cut down on unforced errors which might affect the outcome of matchups in weeks to come.