The Houston Texans finally got their first 100+ yard rusher in last Sunday's home matchup vs. the visiting Arizona Cardinals. Yet, it wasn't Joe Mixon, Nick Chubb, Woody Marks or even Dare Ogunbowale. It happened to be the 5 foot 10 inch, 186 lb, 2024 sixth-round practice squad player out of Louisville in Jawhar Jordan. 

After a series of injuries depleted the running back room, including Woody's ankle during Sunday's contest, Jordan's number was finally called upon to pick up the slack. He then ignited the Texans' offense against Arizona to the tune of 15 carries for 101 yards (6.7 yards/carry). This included his now locally famous 50-yard scamper with 8:20 left in the third quarter to take Houston to the Cardinals' 16-yard line. 

For as much as Marks has been a net positive in the rush/short pass game, Jordan's play added a home run hitting dimension to the offense that has been sorely missed in Joe Mixon's absence. 

Marks has been great as a closer of sorts in clutch-time situations, but Jordan's speed and elusiveness definitely add wrinkles for offensive coordinator Nick Caley to game-plan around. If anything, Jordan has already made a case to be Houston's backup option in place of Nick Chubb.

While it's only been one game's worth of film, the potential Jordan presents vs. Chubbs production thus far is hard to ignore. For reference, through 12+ games played, Chubb has tallied 115 carries for 472 yards and only three touchdowns. He began the season as the de facto starter while Mixon remained out due to an offseason foot predicament. 

In only three quarters, Jordan has put up nearly 25% of Chubb's yardage production. It's no slight to Chubb, but the numbers and eye-test bear out the fact that Jordan at this stage might complement the Texans' offense better.

After his stellar outing, Houston immediately rewarded him with a contract to officially join the 53-man roster.

He will be needed, as Marks' ankle injury kept him out of practice for the majority of the week, while Chubb has been a full participant for the last two practices. So, it might turn out to be Jordan and Chubb who take the field as a tandem against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon. 

This weekend will serve as the chance for a vindicating encore performance for Jordan.

The Raiders' defense comes into NRG Stadium ranked 17th in rushing yards allowed (118.9/game) and 31st in rushing touchdowns allowed (19th). They have also allowed at least 150+ yards rushing in each of their last three games. However, Las Vegas is currently tie for third-best in the NFL in yards per carry at 3.9.

With the offensive odds seemingly stacked in Houston's favor, Jordan and Chubb could be in line for a decent day on the ground. A solid game for the two combined could look like 35 carries (20 - Jordan, 15 - Chubb), 115 yards (75 - Jordan, 40 - Chubb) and 1 TD (Jordan). 

Anything more than that would be icing on the cake for a rushing attack that has lacked consistency all season long. If Jordan can follow up his monster of a day against the Cardinals with another dominant display against the Raiders, we might be seeing a future pairing of Marks and Jordan heading into a likely AFC playoff berth. 

Do you think Jordan has what it takes to crack the top-two of Houston's running back rotation Let us know in the comment section below and on the official Texans Roundtable X account, @Texans_RTB!