Woody Marks might be ready to go for the Houston Texans come Saturday when the 10-win roster travels out west to take on the Los Angeles Chargers.
Marks, who did not play in Sunday’s 23-21 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, returned to practice as a full participant on Tuesday. He was expected to play again this season after dealing with an ankle injury suffered earlier this month in a win over the Arizona Cardinals, but Houston didn’t want to risk any setbacks ahead of a postseason push.
Marks, who had taken over as the top rusher following Week 11’s win over the Tennessee Titans, reinjured his ankle that had been a problem for several weeks during the second quarter of a blowout win against Arizona following his touchdowns. With the rookie out, Houston turned to Jordan, who proceeded to have a career day with over 100 rushing yards, including three runs of 30-plus.
Last week against the Raiders, Jordan led the Texans with 53 rushing yards on 15 carries. Nick Chubb had the biggest run of the afternoon, a 30-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to set up the eventual game-differential 2-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud to Dalton Schultz.
This season in 14 games, Marks leads the Texans in rush attempts (167), yards (584) and yards per game (41.7). The rookie also leads all running backs in receptions, receiving yards (204) and receiving touchdowns (3).
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on NFL Network. With a win, the Texans would clinch a playoff berth and remain alive for the AFC South division title. With a loss, Houston would be out of the running for the division should Jacksonville defeat the Colts.
However, a Colts’ loss would elevate the Texans as a playoff team for a wild-card spot.