Cam Akers in line to be Texans' RB1 against Vikings with Mixon, Pierce out

Old friend Cam Akers is set to be Houston's lead back in his return to U.S. Bank Stadium.

Aug 24, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Cam Akers (22) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at NRG Stadium. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

With Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce missing practice all week, Cam Akers is set to be the Texans' RB1 on Sunday in a matchup against his former team. Akers, who was with the Vikings last season, is in line for a big workload in his return to U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend.

No sign of RBs Joe Mixon or Dameon Pierce today. They haven’t practiced this week. Looking more and more like a Cam Akers week.

— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) September 20, 2024

That's a positive development for the Vikings, considering Mixon had 178 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on a whopping 33 touches in the Texans' Week 1 win over the Colts. The former Pro Bowler with the Bengals was fairly quiet in Week 2 and now has an ankle injury that will keep him off the field. Pierce, the Texans' RB2, has only three carries this year but went over 1,100 total yards as a rookie in 2022.

Akers had 35 yards on eight touches last week against the Bears, and now he'll be the lead back against a Vikings defense that gave up 100 rushing yards to the 49ers' Jordan Mason last week. Dare Ogunbowale should have a sizable role as the third-down back, while undrafted rookie British Brooks will be Houston's RB3.

The 25-year-old Akers was a second-round pick by the Rams out of Florida State in 2020. He suffered a torn Achilles in 2021 but returned in time for the playoffs on a Los Angeles team that won the Super Bowl. Akers had a career-high 903 yards from scrimmage in 2022, then was traded to the Vikings last September. He played in six games for Minnesota before another torn Achilles ended his season prematurely.

Akers isn't Mixon, but he's always had talent, so the Vikings will need to play sound run defense on Sunday if they're going to get C.J. Stroud into some third and long situations.

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