The Houston Texans had a fairly easy day Sunday as they rolled through the Indianapolis Colts like a hot knife through butter. The loss of Peyton Manning has left the Colts leader-less and it seemed to impact just about every aspect of their game as they were destroyed 34-7 by the Texans. The victory allowed the Texans to fill up the stat sheet and one of their leaders was running back Ben Tate.
Texans vs. Colts Recap: Ben Tate Dominant In Place Of Arian Foster, Derrick Ward
Arian Foster has been sidelined by a hamstring injury and after much speculation, Foster was ruled out for Sunday's game. Derrick Ward got the start in his place but the Texans seemed intent on splitting up carries between Ward and third string running back Ben Tate. While Ward is the veteran, Tate is the youngster that many consider to have much more upside.
Ward had some solid runs but wasn’t bulldozing folks until he left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. Ward did not return but the Texans were up 24-0 at that point and rolling to victory. In his place, Ben Tate broke through with several big runs and ended up finishing the game 116 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
Ben Tate’s fantasy value moving forward is almost entirely dependent on the health of Arian Foster. As long as Foster is out, Tate will battle Ward for carries but most people believe Tate will surpass Ward on the depth chart fairly quickly. However, once Foster is healthy again, Tate and/or Ward likely become no better than handcuffs moving forward. If you have Foster and Tate is available on the waiver wire you’ll want to make a play. However, if you’ve got sufficient RB depth to get past two or three more weeks without Foster, you don’t need to go overboard and try and make a deal for Tate.
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