HOUSTON—Steve Slaton became a key to Houston’s offense as a rookie last year when he ran for a franchise-record 1,282 yards.
This season he’s tied for the NFL lead in lost fumbles with five and his job as a starter is in jeopardy after Ryan Moats had a huge day filling in for him. Moats, a career backup, ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns after Slaton was benched in the first quarter of Houston’s 31-10 win over the Bills.
Coach Gary Kubiak won’t say who’ll start in Sunday’s key division matchup at Indianapolis. Along with Slaton and Moats, Houston has Chris Brown, who is primarily used in short-yardage and goal line situations.
“They know they’re all going to play and they know they’re all going to be a part of what we’re doing, so I just think we keep working them,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, Ryan earned some time on the football field the way he played. But we’ve got to get all three of them ready to play.”
Regardless of who starts, coaches and players agree they’ll need Slaton’s playmaking ability against the Colts.
Slaton has gotten off to a slow start this season with 110 carries for 342 yards rushing and two scores, but has supplemented his work in the running game with 314 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
Left tackle Duane Brown talked to Slaton after the game to remind him that everyone is rooting for him and expects him to rebound from this adversity.
“Everyone here has so much belief in Steve and what he can do,” Brown said. “It’s just about him bouncing back and this will definitely be a big week to do it. We’re going to need everyone to get this win and he’s a very key part of this team and what we have going.”
The Texans continue to run drills in practice focusing on trying to make the running backs fumble. On Wednesday, they even had a cornerback run after them after plays were done to try and knock it loose.
Slaton was not made available to reporters Wednesday, but talked about his struggles after the game Sunday.
“It’s hard,” he said. “You always want to go out there and be a part of the team game, but we rode the hot hand and Moats had a great game and got it done for us.”
If Slaton doesn’t start on Sunday, it will break a streak of 23 consecutive starts for the third-round pick. Moats said who starts doesn’t really matter.
“When you were a younger guy in high school and college, starting was a big thing to you,” he said. “But in this situation, I don’t think it’s that important because in this league today no one back can do it all. You have to do it together.”
Moats, who is in his second year with the Texans after two seasons with the Eagles, has found himself in the strange position of comforting Slaton while possibly taking his job.
“You can’t deny that he’s a good back and you can’t deny that he’s a great runner and he’s going to continue to have great runs in the future,” Moats said. “So I think with me playing for a longer time than he has, I try to help him as much as I can. You never want to play out a guy that’s going to be an important part of this offense for a long time to come.”
