Joe Mixon Continues to Miss Practice, Dameon Pierce Expected to Play

It’s been a whirlwind for injury news out of Houston, with the aforementioned Nico Collins development headlining a long list of updates. For yet another week, Joe Mixon missed practice on Wednesday – a bad sign for any potential availability in Week 6 against the Patriots. HC Demeco Ryans did say that Mixon has progressed in his recovery, but it’s just a drop in the bucket considering that Mixon’s original ‘week-to-week’ designation has turned into more of a ‘month-to-month’ situation. What is encouraging for the Texans: RB Dameon Pierce practiced on Wednesday for the first time in a while, and Ryans said after practice in a presser that he expects Pierce to play in this weekend’s game. With the two-headed attack of Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale yielding mixed results at best for the Houston offense, Pierce will almost certainly get a crack at being a difference-maker this week – especially with Mixon starting the week on the wrong foot. Most in jeopardy are Cam Akers’ touches in the backfield, as Ogunbowale saw a drastic increase in his utilization in the ground game in Week 5 after an ineffective Week 4 performance from Akers. Pierce shouldn’t be in lineups outside of the most desperate circumstances, though he’s certainly intriguing given the potential for Mixon to continue missing time moving forward.