The Houston Texans went into the 2025 campaign with an uncertain situation at the running back position thanks to the mysterious injury to Joe Mixon, which left the door open for Woody Marks and Nick Chubb to seize lead back duties.
Mixon has been on the non-football injury list with an unspecified foot injury since the offseason and it doesn't look like he's coming back anytime soon, if at all this season.
The Texans drafted Marks in April and then signed Chubb in free agency in June. The latter began the year as the clear-cut starter, but Marks has since taken things over in the backfield and it looks like it's his job to lose now.
Here's what led to things shifting in Houston.
How Woody Marks passed Nick Chubb
Chubb proved to be a decent addition to the backfield early on, but it was clear the Texans needed more out of the running back position, as Chubb's production was mostly pedestrian and he wasn't ripping off explosive runs like he used to and wasn't offering much as a pass-catcher.
Since Week 4, Marks has had a regular role in the offense and has offered the kind of consistent and dangerous receiving threat out of the backfield that Chubb doesn't, which helps make Houston's offense less predictable.
Marks is averaging 11.9 yards per catch, which is the second-most on the team, while Chubb has totaled just 5.4 yards per catch.
“Consistency,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said of Marks. “He’s gotten better every single week, not just as a runner. Obviously, you can catch the ball, but blitz pickup. He’ll put his face on guys and be physical.
As a runner, it's clear Marks has more juice than Chubb, although he is averaging 3.5 yards per carry to Chubb's 4.2. But it's important to note that not all of that is Marks' fault, as Houston's offensive line ranks dead-last in run-block win rate.
While Marks and Chubb are good complements to one another and were splitting work in weeks past, the Texans haven't been utilizing the latter much the past two games entering Week 12.
In that span, Marks has tallied 35 touches to Chubb's nine, which shows a clear changing of the guard in the backfield.
Whether or not that continues the rest of the year remains to be seen, but Houston would be wise to let it continue to see if Marks can be the future at the running back position, something Chubb won't be as he enters the twilight of his career.
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