Running the ball turns out to have worked for the Houston Texans

The Houston Texans eked out a must-win game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, with the final score going in favor of the good guys 19-16. They came in the forms of a Will Levis rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown from Case Keenum to Noah Brown. The lone touchdown of the day for the Texans and a much-needed one that came in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

And while Keenum made one big play to help the Texans get to overtime, and eventually the win, the real MVP of the day wasn't Keenum at all, but running back Devin Singletary. We wrote before that for the Texans to have a shot at winning, they would need to not only run the ball but run it with Singletary, and through the first quarter of the game, that didn't seem to be the plan at all.

Yet, as the game went on, Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans started to actually lean on the one player he has seemingly neglected all season; Singletary. Despite an entire season's worth of evidence that Singletary and not Dameon Pierce, was the person they needed to feature as the team's primary back, Singletary was often left on the bench, coming in to spell Pierce.

This is despite a few games where Singletary looked fantastic, filling in for an injured Pierce. Then when Pierce came back, the status quo returned. That was until recently, that is. Singletary has gotten far more carries over the last few weeks, and the Texans offense looks better because of it.

The Titans game really showcased what the Texans can do if they lean on Singletary going forward. He had 26 carries for 121 yards and an average yard-per-carry of 4.7. Not only did Singletary outshine Pierce, but he also made Derrick Henry look average. Henry had 16 carries for just nine yards, really marking the end of Henry's time as an elite running back.

The Texans moved to 8-6 on the season with three to go and control their own destiny.