Touchdown runs of over 90 yards don't come along every day. In fact, the Houston Texans have accomplished this only once in their 21-year history. Who has that run and what sets him apart from other players in the NFL that have a 97-yard run or longer?
November 26, 2018, on a Monday night, Lamar Miller would break away on a 97-yard touchdown run against the Tennessee Titans. At the time, the Texans were on the verge of becoming one of the elite teams in the AFC and were 7 - 3 heading into the matchup.
On a first-and-ten play, from the Texans' three-yard line, Watson handed the ball to Lamar Miller and took the ball straight up the middle of the Titans' defense, broke a couple of tackles, and outran everyone else on his way to scoring. The touchdown put the Texans up 21 - 10 and they would never look back as they dominated the Titans by a score of 34 - 17.
Ninety. Seven. Yards.@millertime_6 | #TENvsHOU pic.twitter.com/MuNPnNzqN8
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) November 27, 2018
What makes this one special, is the last time a player in the NFL broke a 97-yarder was, well Lamar Miller himself. He also accomplished the feat as a member of the Miami Dolphins, four years earlier in 2014.
Only seven players in league history have a 97-yard touchdown run on their resume and Miller has two of those. He is the only player in NFL history that can lay claim to this stat. Consequently, the record is 99 yards, and two players own that record, Tony Dorsett (1982) and Derrick Henry (2018).
For the record here is the top-five all-time longest touchdown runs in Houston Texans history.
1. Lamar Miller - 97 yards (2018)
2. Justin Forsett - 81 yards (2012)
3. Dameon Pierce - 75 yards (2022)
4. Arian Foster - 74 yards (2009)
5. Steve Slaton - 71 yards (2008)
Perhaps we will see Piece add another long touchdown run to the Texans' record books and continue a long line of successful running backs throughout Houston Texans' history. If he can stay healthy, something those before him have struggled to do, he could become one of the best, if not the best to suit up for the Texans.