HOUSTON – Woody Marks powered through ankle and knee injuries Sunday night during a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
This marked the heaviest workload yet for the Texans’ rookie running back. He gutted it out and earned some tough yards, 68 of them on a career-high 26 carries against a stout Chiefs front as he was held to 2.6 yards per run and caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.
Recommended Videos
“I’m feeling good,” said Marks, who has no injury designation after missing one practice Wednesday. “Last game, guys were attacking at my knees kind of a little soreness right there. Nothing major I’m always going to go back in the game unless i’m tremendously hurt and lay it on the line for my brothers.”
For the season, Marks has rushed for a team-high 554 yards and two touchdowns with a 3.5 yard average per carry in 13 games and five starts. One of the most prolific receiving backs in the college ranks at USC and Mississippi State, Marks hasn’t been utilized a ton in that area. He still has 20 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns out of the backfield.
Managing his workload, yes, that’s on the mind of Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley. Especially with backup Nick Chubb dealing with a rib injury that has him questionable for Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Marks has rushed for 68, 64, 74, 44 and 63 yards over the past five games with carries of 26, 19, 16, 18 and 14 with a steady uptick in his usage.
“I think you got to be able to use the guys we have available at the game,” Caley said. “Obviously, Nick going down impacts some things, but certainly never want to get so heavy as to where you’re getting into a situation like that. We have faith in all those guys being able to find a good rhythm and be able to spell certain situations, down distances to be able to offset some of that, so the volume doesn’t get so high, and we are fresh in the fourth quarter. Woody is a warrior, he does a great job, he’s getting better every single week and certainly want to be mindful of that to your point, too. Definitely.”
For Marks, it’s all about helping the team.
The win over the Chiefs after losing five in a row to them was particularly satisfying.
“It was amazing, knowing the back story,” Marks said. “We talked about it in the locker room. The last time we were there, it was a bad taste in the mouth. I wasn’t here, but just hearing that made me play even more harder.”
Although his longest run was just eight yards, Marks feels like he’s close to breaking one. His longest run of the season was 23 yards against the Baltimore Ravens, the same game he had a 50-yard catch-and-run.
“In our meetings, just watching the runs that we could have, that could have popped off,” Marks said. “Just one block away.”
The toughness Marks has displayed stems from his desire to contribute.
The Texans are 8-5 and on a five-game winning streak heading into a Sunday home game against the Arizona Cardinals. They’re in the thick of the AFC playoff hunt.
“It comes from the inner me,” Marks said. “It’s my brothers. I want to lay it all on the field. I go down, I go down. I just know I laid it all on the line. You never know when you’ll play this game again. While I’m in the game, I’m going to play it.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be here tomorrow, but all I know is I’m going to have people talk about me. That’s just part of the position. Sometimes, you’re going to have these bumps and bruises. I don’t think I’ve been getting hit hard, but it adds up. I play running back. I get hit every play.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com