Devin Singletary took over the Houston Texans’ starting running back duties after Dameon Pierce went down with an ankle injury. But has he done enough to keep the starting job after Pierce returns to active duty? Let’s check out the fantasy football outlook for each player.
Should You Start Devin Singletary or Dameon Pierce This Week?
In the Pro Football Network Start/Sit Optimizer, our Consensus Rankings say that Singletary is the player to start. His projected 10.2 points include 40 rushing yards, three receptions, and 19 receiving yards. That projected stat line outperforms that of Pierce, who doesn’t have any projected points yet, given his inactive status in recent games.
My ranking for these two running backs aligns with the consensus. Singletary has been too productive as of late to leave out of your fantasy lineup, and Pierce’s injury continues to leave him with an uncertain status for Week 12.
Fantasy Outlook for Singletary This Week
It will be difficult to leave Singletary off a fantasy lineup anytime soon based on his last two weeks, which have produced the top two rushing games of his career.
Two weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals, Singletary set career highs in carries (30) and rush yards (150), adding a touchdown run. He was also on the field for a season-high 61 offensive plays.
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Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Singletary rushed for 112 yards, and another rushing touchdown, on 22 carries in the win.
Considering what the state of the Texans’ rushing attack was in the first eight games of the season — 87 rush yards per game on 3.3 yards per carry and only three touchdown runs — it’s difficult to imagine whenever Pierce is healthy enough to return that he would step back into a starter’s role.
The Texans do have a tough matchup this week with a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that ranks third in the NFL against the run, allowing 87.0 rush yards per game. In the first meeting with the Jaguars back in September, Singletary averaged 4.6 yards a carry, rushing for 41 yards on only nine carries.
Houston clearly has trust in Singletary to handle the workload — as his 52 carries over the last two weeks will attest — and he is absolutely worth another start in any fantasy lineup for this weekend.
Fantasy Outlook for Pierce This Week
Pierce has missed three straight games due to an ankle injury, and his status is uncertain for Week 12. The good news is he did practice on Friday ahead of last week’s game, albeit limited, so perhaps he’s ready to return to the lineup.
His practice status this week is worth monitoring, and if he is able to get in at least one full participation, that will be a very telling sign about his ability to get back on the field this weekend.
Because of his injury status, the Optimizer does not have projections for Pierce entering Week 12.
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