RB Cullen Gillaspia - Houston Texans

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Week 3: at Los Angeles Chargers

All RB vs LAC

FBG says: Neutral matchup. Texans running backs looked good against a tough Jaguars defense last week, rushing a combined 26 times for 121 yards. What may have been unexpected, however, was the split between Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson. Hyde out-touched Johnson 20-to-6 on the ground after splitting carries relatively evenly with Johnson in Week 1 (10 for Hyde, 9 for Johnson). After a preseason full of doubts that Hyde would even make an NFL roster, he has now outplayed Duke Johnson for two straight weeks as the lead rusher for this backfield. The Texans are expected to continue employing a committee approach with these two, and the game script will surely factor into snap counts afforded to each--which will ultimately limit the upside of both running backs. Deshaun Watson rushed for another touchdown last week--his second of the season in as many games. While the yardage total was not there, Watson continues to make plays with his legs and will be a factor for this Texans ground game as long as he remains healthy. The offensive line continues to be a concern for the Texans though, as rookie left guard Tytus Howard struggled in his NFL debut last week while left tackle Laremy Tunsil continued his slow start while also getting banged up with an ankle injury. Tunsil expects to play in Week 3, but his integration with this new unit is happening much slower than anyone would have hoped for. The Chargers defense had a respectable showing in Week 2 against the Lions, giving up just 41 rushing yards to lead back Kerryon Johnson while limiting the team to a total of 94 rushing yards, averaging just 3.4 yards per rush attempt. This was a big improvement after giving up 203 yards and a touchdown to the Colts in Week 1. They rotated more of their interior defensive linemen last week, but that actually remains a key weakness as none of the four defensive tackles looked particularly strong. Rookie Jerry Tillery is still picking up the defense while veteran Brandon Mebane will need to step up for this group to become more consistent. Defensive end posed no problem though, as it was Joey Bosa who carried this defensive line last week and will remain the rock of this group. Linebacker Thomas Davis had a better game in Week 2, while Uchenna Nwosu did well with an increase snap share. The Texans offensive line will likely struggle in this one given the elite edge defenders of the Chargers, but strong play from Texans center Nick Martin could help propel them forward for runs up the middle against the key weakness of this Chargers run defense.

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Weekly Performance vs RB 1, RB 12, RB 24, RB 36

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