The Houston Texans are already down two wide receivers, two tight ends and an offensive lineman for Saturday’s divisional-round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, they could be down at tailback following Thursday’s practice.
Running back Joe Mixon was not seen during the media session on Thursday afternoon. He was listed as limited with an ankle injury on Wednesday’s injury report.
#Texans RB Joe Mixon is not at practice for the start of drills today.
Mixon was limited yesterday, too.
— Cole Thompson (@MrColeThompson) January 16, 2025
Houston needs a stable run game headlined by the Pro Bowl runner if it stands a chance of securing a victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Even with the stellar outing by Dameon Pierce in Week 18’s win over the Tennessee Titans, Mixon has been Houston’s go-to runner.
In last week’s wild-card round win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Mixon became the first running back since Arian Foster in 2012 to rush for 100 yards in a playoff game. He finished with 106 yards and scored a 17-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
“He wants the football,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said following a 32-12 win. “You want to play well in the playoffs you have to be able to run the football. So Joe did a great job there today and he doesn’t do that without the way our guys block, tight ends, receivers, also the offensive line. Like collective effort there which allowed us to run the wall the way we did.”
Mixon, who inked a three-year extension this offseason after being traded to Houston by the Cincinnati Bengals, also became the sixth running back in franchise history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He was on pace for 1,300 yards and 4.7 yards per attempt before an ankle injury in Week 2 sidelined him for three games.
#Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle) not practicing at start of today’s workout @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/pDCZkAVNuM
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 16, 2025
Mixon’s status on the injury report should provide more insight into Houston’s ground game. If he can’t go, the Texans will rely on a combination of Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale.
In 14 regular-season games, Mixon rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards per attempt.
Offensively, the Texans are down receivers Tank Dell (knee) and Stefon Diggs (torn ACL) and tight ends Brevin Jordan (torn ACL) and Cade Stover (shoulder). Robert Woods (hip) also did not practice the past two days.
Kickoff from Arrowhead Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on ABC and ESPN.
