Texans Daily

Texans Beat Saints: Did Rookie RB Dameon Pierce Just Win Starting Job?

Texans Rookie running back Dameon Pierce helped lead the Texans to a win in Game 1 of the preseason.

Matt Galatzan

In this story:

The Houston Texans welcomed the New Orleans Saints to NRG Stadium on Saturday night, kicking off the first preseason game of the 2022 season. It was also the debut of new Texans head coach Lovie Smith, who took over for David Culley following last season.

And luckily for Smith, things went according to plan, with the Texans taking down the Saints 17-13 with a late touchdown to move to 1-0 in the preseason. 

“Anytime you keep score,'' Smith said afterward, "you wanna win.''

Oh, and with the debut of a new running back who might just deserve to be a rookie starter. ... maybe Houston can win some more.

Texans quarterback Davis Mills looked solid in his limited action in the preseason opener, finishing the game 3-3 for 14 yards and an 86.1 quarterback rating. 

After Mills checked out of the game, it was backup quarterback Jeff Driskel who got the majority of snaps for the rest of the game. 

Driskel largely struggled throughout the night but showed up when it counted, leading the offense down and hitting Jaleel Johnson for a touchdown to give the Texans the winning score with 25 seconds to go. 

However, rookie running back Dameon Pierce may have stolen the show for Houston, stealing the show with five rushes for 49 yards, with a long of 20, and averaging 9.8 yards per carry.

And coming off of back-to-back seasons in which they had arguably the worst rushing attack in the NFL, it was exactly the type of rushing performance that Texans fans everywhere had been desperate to see.

Now, they will hope to carry Pierce's momentum on the ground over to preseason Game 2 - and hopefully into the regular season.

Following the loss, the Texans will head to the West Coast, where they will take on the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams at So-Fi Stadium. The kickoff is set for 9 pm CT.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com