Texans' Dameon Pierce Recounts Award-Winning Angry Run vs. Jaguars
Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce's highly anticipated sophomore season is off to a rough start, as he's rushed for a combined 69 yards on 26 carries (just 2.7 yards per carry) over the first two weeks.
Pierce has voiced his frustration in the past, stating that he and the coaches would "clean up" the run game, but his stellar rookie campaign also started on the wrong foot.
The 2022 fourth-round pick won the starting job just a few months after he was drafted on Day 3, but his first 100-yard game didn't come until Week 4, when he ran for 131 against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, it would be the very next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars that a 20-yard run riddled with broken tackles by Pierce would change his trajectory.
"That run showed that I was capable of not making good plays but great plays," Pierce told reporters after Friday's practice. "It gave me a lot of confidence and it carries over to this season knowing I can make those types of plays again. Seeing myself doing it, I said to myself 'man, I really did that,' and it gave me a big confidence boost."
That 20-yard run against the Jaguars earned Pierce Good Morning Football's Angry Run of the Year award.
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Pierce ran angrily through the rest of the season, as he finished fifth in yards after contact (506), fourth in broken tackles (27) and he broke a tackle every eight rushing attempts (second-best in the NFL). He was one of just three players in the NFL to average more yards after contact (2.3) than before it (2.0). The only reason Pierce wasn't higher in these categories is because he was sidelined in the final four games of the season due to a foot injury.
Pierce is facing the Jaguars this Sunday and is aiming to get back on track. That being said, the 23-year-old is hoping to replicate the run again, but admitted that it won't be easy.
"I feel like the first thing (the Jaguars coaches) said on Monday was 'DO NOT LET HIM HAVE HIS RUN AGAIN,'" Pierce said. "It'll be a bigger challenge for me and the guys up front to try and do it again."
The bulldozing running back has previously stated that he "doesn't have good intentions" for opposing defenses this year and is "finding ways to be even angrier." Hopefully, one more angry run against the Jaguars will be all he needs to get back on track.
