Sunday was just like the previous seven games against Jacksonville for Arian Foster: it ended with a Texans victory.

The Pro Bowl running back finished with over 100 yards from scrimmage, as he ran for 53 on 18 carries and caught five passes for 59 yards. One of those catches resulted in a score, and after the game, Foster reflected on his receiving ability.

"I do love catching the ball out of the backfield," Foster said. "I feel like it creates a lot of matchup problems with their linebackers or safeties, because I feel like I run good routes out there."

Bill O'Brien agreed with Foster, and took it a step further by saying the seven-year pro is "a really, really good route-runner". But the head coach began his postgame assessment of Foster by calling him a "competitor" and praising his toughness.

"A guy that's getting back into it," O'Brien said. "Tearing the groin like he did, it takes a while to get back. It was really good to have him back in there."

Foster's first quarter 14-yard touchdown catch-and-run gave the Texans a 7-0 advantage, and capped a 16-play drive that went 99 yards and lasted 8:24.

On that possession, the Texans faced a third down three times.

On each of those three crucial downs, they turned to Foster, and he delivered. On 3rd-and-13 at the Texans 40, Foster weaved his way through the Jacksonville defense for 12 yards. It got Brian Hoyer and the offense close enough that they were able to go for it on fourth down, and the quarterback found DeAndre Hopkins for eight yards and a first down.

Five plays later on 3rd-and-1 at the Jaguars 17, Foster got two yards and the chains moved.

A few plays after that came the Foster score on 3rd-and-7 at the Jacksonville 14, and the Texans were on the board.

"We were efficient," Foster said. "We stayed on the field when we needed to, for the most part. As long as you do that, we feel like we can move the ball."

Hoyer, who won his first game as a starter with the Texans, was happy Foster was back in the fold.

"Arian had a good day," Hoyer said. "Obviously the touchdown, they tried to double-cover 'Hop. So we put him one-on-one, and obviously he's great out of the backfield. He had some great runs too. He's a key part to this offense, so it's good to have him back."

Foster's been on the winning side against the Jaguars in eight straight contests, dating back to Week 17 of 2010. He missed both contests versus Jacksonville in 2013, but in the eight game win streak Foster's scored nine touchdowns.

***Twitter.com/DoughertyDrew***

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