David Montgomery — Week 3: Eleven Carries, Thirty-Three Yards
2026 NFL Season · Half-PPR Scoring · Monday, Sep 28
Montgomery carried 11 times for 33 yards and one first down, and was stopped for no gain on fourth and one at the Indianapolis 31 in a scoreless first quarter, on Houston's fourth snap after taking over on a strip-sack. He caught both targets for 15 yards, and his own incomplete throw drew the interference flag that set up Houston's first touchdown, in a 19–17 loss to the Colts.
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Nothing to nothing, nine 47 left in the first quarter, fourth and one at the Indianapolis 31. Houston had the ball that deep because Daniel Jones had been sacked and fumbled on the Colts' previous snap, and the Texans came away with it at the 40; this was their fourth snap from there. With an extra player reported as eligible, David Montgomery went off right tackle for no gain. −4.2 expected points added — expected points added is what a play was worth given down, distance and field position — and −7.7 points of win probability, the chance of winning the game after the play against before it. No Houston play all afternoon cost more expected points. It was the second Sunday running that a Montgomery run on fourth and one came up short; against the Bengals a week earlier he lost a yard at the Cincinnati 18.
The line: 11 carries, 33 yards, no touchdown, one first down, two of the 11 successful, −5.8 expected points on the carries; two targets, two catches, 15 yards, +1.5 on the targets. The carries went three, three, nothing, two, two, four, five, four, nothing, nine, one. Eight came before halftime for 23 yards, three after for 10. The nine was the first down: second and seven at the Houston 26 with 11 59 left in the fourth, down 16 to seven, right tackle to the 35. The other no-gain was first and 10 from the Houston one in the third quarter, the snap after Jones was intercepted there. His last carry was first and 10 at the Indianapolis 12 with nine 14 left, one yard, and Houston settled for a 24-yard field goal.
His best snaps came on the one touchdown drive of the first half. Second and six at the Indianapolis 27, five-oh-seven left in the second quarter, down 10 to nothing: a short throw to Montgomery for 10 yards, and a face-mask penalty on the Colts added nine more, to the eight. On the next snap Montgomery threw it himself, short right for Jared Wayne, incomplete, and pass interference on the Colts put the ball at the one; the play counts in no one's line. C.J. Stroud threw the one-yard touchdown to Foster Moreau on the snap after that. The other catch was five yards on second and 10 in the fourth quarter.
Houston called 20 designed runs: Montgomery 11, Woody Marks five, Xavier Hutchinson two, Jaylin Noel one and Stroud one. The only two Houston designed runs inside the Indianapolis 10 were both Marks's, on the drive that tied the game, and Montgomery did not carry after nine 14 left in the fourth.
Back in June the preview put Montgomery on the watchlist: efficient but short of volume in Detroit, traded into Houston's lead role, with the bet being that the role would reverse a decline. Week 1 was the role, 20 carries and three touchdowns with every carry inside the five. Week 2 was six carries, none after halftime, and the fourth down stopped. Sunday landed between them, 11 of the 20 designed runs, and the goal-line work went to Marks. Across three games Montgomery has 37 carries for a hundred three yards, under three a carry, and the efficiency the preview was counting on has not shown up yet. Three games settle little. Houston is home to the Cowboys on Sunday the fourth.
_Data via nflverse._
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