Houston Texans running back Ben Tate had a banner day despite the team's 34-31 loss to the New England Patriots.
Ben Tate erupts for 102 yards and 3 touchdowns for fantasy owners
The Texans’ feature running back asserted his status with a career day on Sunday. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Tate took advantage of a Patriots defense that has become vulnerable up the middle with the losses of Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo, and Texans brass took notice and fed him the ball. Tate carried the ball 22 times for 102 yards and a career-best three touchdowns. Quarterback Case Keenum barely broke a sweat once the Texans marched into Patriots territory, as Tate and the offensive line simply took over.
Fantasy Spin: So much for any talk of Tate losing reps to Dennis Johnson, who touched the ball just four times as Tate monopolized all of the backfield carries this week. It was a bounce-back game that was desperately needed for Tate, who carried the ball seven times for 1 yard the previous week versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Unfortunately, Tate’s fantasy owners would have been hard-pressed to start him after such a performance, but it’s a mistake that they ought not to make next week when the Texans have their rematch versus the Jaguars on Thursday night. Expect Tate’s bounce-back to continue after his 28-point outburst.
