The Houston Texans running game was dealt a major blow when Domanick Davis was put on the injured reserve before the season. The problem is, 11 games into the season it still hasn't fully recovered.

The Texans have had some good games, but have struggled with consistency without Davis, the franchise leading rusher. Two weeks ago, Houston had 188 yards rushing, the second most in team history. They followed it up with just 25 yards rushing against the New York Jets.

Samkon Gado, who has been splitting time with rookie Wali Lundy, said he is not discouraged and knows things will turn around.

"The most important thing is being consistent and still keep working hard and the yards will come," Gado said. "Yes, we didn't do as well as we would have liked, but I don't think that's really indicative of the type of running backs that we are. We've just got to keep working and hopefully we'll do better next week."

Lundy leads the team with 415 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Gado, who came to Houston this season in a trade with Green Bay, has 217 yards rushing and a touchdown. Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, who signed with the Texans after being released by the Broncos, has 183 yards but hasn't played the last three games.

Lundy, who was a sixth-round draft pick, has also helped out in the passing game, adding 27 receptions for 162 yards.

Besides the loss of the Davis, the group has had to deal with several changes to the offensive line because of season-ending injuries to three starters. Lundy said that shouldn't matter though, and refused to use it as an excuse for their troubles.

Second-year player Drew Hodgdon will start in place of center Mike Flanagan, who was placed on the injured reserve on Tuesday. He's started five career games.

"Offensive linemen take a lot of pride in the running game," Hodgdon said. "We're going to come out this week after that poor performance on the ground and try to take care of that."

Houston ran the ball just 14 times but threw 54 passes in Sunday's 26-11 loss to the Jets. Coach Gary Kubiak said he probably abandoned the run too quickly against New York, saying that Lundy and Gado didn't get enough carries.

"That's my fault," he said of the few carries. "But they are both better than they played. And we're not always going to block every one of them, they have to make somebody miss. I want to see both those kids come back and play better this week."

Lundy agreed with Kubiak's assessment.

"We've got to step up our game," Lundy said. "If we want to help this team win we've got to be more productive in running the ball. I put it on my shoulders to make this running game go."