Following Houston Texans' Bye Week, Can Dameon Pierce Bounce Back?

Six games into the season, tight end Dalton Schultz has yet to see the player who almost helped the Texans upset the Cowboys nearly a year ago.

HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans fell 27-23 to the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 11 of last season, veteran tight end Dalton Schultz left AT&T Stadium impressed with then-rookie running back Dameon Pierce.

He finished the Week 14 contest with 78 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown before going down with a season-ending foot injury in the fourth quarter.

Schultz has been teammates with Pierce since he signed with the Texans as a free agent in March. But six games into the season, Schultz has yet to see the player who almost helped the Texans upset the Cowboys nearly a year ago.

"Yeah, we’ve just got to keep working," offensive coordinator Bobby Slowki said. "It’s a very different run scheme than they had here last year, and it was a process up front with the [offensive] line, especially [considering] we had moving pieces almost every week. 

"All of that kind of impacts the back and what’s going on, but then there’s also little, minute details in how we offset what we’re trying to do with outside zone, inside zone, different schemes we could do that are a little more familiar to D.P."

Saints defensive tackles and cornerback wrap up Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce during the first quarter at NRG Stadium / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Pierce had a premature end to a promising rookie season. He came 61 yards shy of rushing for 1,000. He finished the 2022 season with 939 yards on 220 attempts and four touchdowns in 13 games. 

But given his sophomore slump, Pierce may not come close to reaching 1K this season. The Texans' Week 4 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers marked the only game Pierce displayed flashes of the player from last season, where he finished the game with 81 yards on 24 carries.

The early end of his rookie season gave Pierce an opportunity to focus on enhancing his on-field attributes beyond the run game. He took time to improve his skill set as a pass-catcher. But the 23-year-old running back has yet to showcase his enhancements. 

Pierce has been a subpar factor in Houston's passing attack by catching nine balls for 84 yards.

The 2023 season has been a down year for Pierce. He entered the Bye Week after rushing for 281 yards on 97 attempts with one touchdown. But with 11 games left, there is enough time for Pierce to re-capture the on-field allure that left Schultz in awe as an opponent.

"I just remember coming out of the game last year like ‘damn who is this No. 31 kid?,'" Schultz said during training camp. "He is just gashing us...Having him kind of be at the head of the running back room, I think is big time heading forward."