Tim Kelly says Texans are ‘very lucky’ with their running back stable

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly is pleased with the crop of running backs on the roster.

The Texans have three proven veterans in Mark Ingram, Phillip Lindsay, and David Johnson, all three of whom have earned Pro Bowl selections. The running back stable is also bolstered by former Cincinnati Bengal and New England Patriot Rex Burkhead, and youngsters Scottie Phillips and Buddy Howell.

The blend of speed, power, youth, and experience is a positive for Kelly, who emphasized in Wednesday’s presser after training camp practice at Houston Methodist Training Center that they want a dominant run game, not particularly a bell-cow back.

“Ideally, you want to be able to run the ball to win the game at the end,” Kelly said. “So, what that allows us to do is that when we get in those situations, we are able to have fresh backs with fresh legs come in there and continue to keep throwing different looks at those guys.”

Ingram has the “hot hand” thus far with seven carries for 24 yards and a touchdown in first-team action. Throughout the preseason, Phillips has tallied the most statistics with 17 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown through two preseason games.

“Like I said, we are very lucky to have those backs, the type of players, the type of men they are, they are doing a great job leading not only that room but being strong voices in the offensive room,” Kelly said. “Hopefully, we can go out there and play well on Sunday and they can go out there and make some plays for us.”

The Texans will get one more chance to see what they have in the running back room as they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.