The Texans running backs were the lone bright spot on offense, according to head coach Bill O'Brien.
Houston fell 32-0 in the 2014 preseason opener at Arizona on Saturday night. Despite not finding the red zone, the running backs combined for 90 rushing yards, averaging 5.3 yards per play.
View photos from the Texans vs. Cardinals preseason game 1.
"Andre Brown was out there," O'Brien said. "We went with Jonathan Grimes because we didn't get a lot of plays in the first half. We stuck with him and then we wanted to go to [Alfred] Blue. Then it was Dennis Johnson, and then basically because we couldn't run that many plays offensively, we didn't get those guys into the game."
Grimes led the backs with 10 carries for 39 yards and played for most of the first half.
"Grimes had a decent night," O'Brien said. "Grimes is a smart guy. He's a really good teammate and he's doing a good job. He came back. He had a little hamstring [injury] when he first got back and since he's been off the shelf, he's had a good camp."
Rookie Alfred Blue had five carries for 30 yards, including a 14-yard gain on his first career carry in the second quarter. Blue alsol caught two passes for 14 yards.
"I felt pretty good running the ball, Blue said. "The o-line made a couple of good blocks up there I just felt good. They opened the hole for "me. They made my job easy so I just saw the whole and went and got it and what I do best and get some yards."
