Digging Into The Stats: Arian Foster

Dec 21, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) rushes during the second quarter as Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker

(55) attempts to make a tackle at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Rushing

Arian Foster has been a huge portion of the Texans scoring since he took over the starting job in 2010. Without his performances over the last five years, the Texans easily could have been the worst team in football for many years in a row. His injuries have costs the Texans games, but his immense volume that we just talked about has led the Texans to lots of wins. Here is a visual on what he has done on the ground since coming into the league:

• Despite only playing in 13 games last year, Arian still managed to put up 1,246 yards and 8 touchdowns.
• Only Justin Forsett, Jeremy Hill, Lamar Miller, and Jamaal Charles finished ahead of Foster in yards per attempt (4.8 ypc). When it came to yards per game, only DeMarco Murray topped the Texan. His 95.8 yards per game was his second best in his career.
• Touchdowns were a little harder than yards last year largely due to the Texans offense being debatably the worst one Arian Foster has been apart of. He only was able to put up eight touchdowns.
• He scored in only five of the 13 games he appeared in. He actually had more multi-touchdown games than games with one touchdown last year. For some odd reason, the Texans were 1-2 when Arian Foster ran for two touchdowns last year.
• Three of his touchdowns were on the goal line. Seven of his eight touchdowns were inside the Red Zone. His lone touchdown outside of the 20-yard line was a 34 yard scamper against the Titans.

Arian Foster is widely considered an elite running back in the NFL. The numbers don’t line. His targets show how talented he really is. Here is a visual on how he stacked up against the rest of the “elite” running backs in 2014 (personally, I think Le’Veon Bell, Adrian Peterson, DeMarco Murray, Marshawn Lynch, and Jamaal Charles are the only running backs better than Arian Foster) :

• The chart believes Arian Foster was the third best runner last year. His yards per game and rushing attempts vaulted him to the top. If he wants to return to the very top of the list, he will need to find the end zone and of course stay healthy.

Next: Arian Foster's Receiving Stats