Miller’s big game propels Houston past Miami, 42-23
HOUSTON—Lamar Miller’s second big game in a row helped the Houston Texans to their fifth straight win.
This one, a 42-23 victory Thursday night over the Dolphins, meant a little more to the running back because of his ties to South Florida. Miller was born and grew up in Miami before attending college at Miami, was drafted by the Dolphins in 2012 and spent his first four seasons with the team.
Miller had 133 yards rushing and a touchdown for his second straight 100-yard game.
“It felt good,” Miller said. “I was speaking to the guys before the game and today I just had a different type of juice. I got a lot of rest last night. So today was just good. The offensive line did a great job and I’m just thankful.”
He’s the first Texan to rush for 100 yards in consecutive games since Arian Foster in 2014.
Miller’s 2-yard touchdown in the first quarter tied the game at 7. He had a 19-yard run earlier in the drive to set up the score.
He had a 58-yard run early in the third quarter on his way to another 100-yard game. He hadn’t had one since 2016 before last week against Jacksonville.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson raved about Miller’s recent work and said it’s helped make things easier for him.
“It starts with the run game,” Watson said. “They’ve got to respect it. They’ve got to get seven men in the box, sometimes eight men in the box and then they kind of open up the passing game. So the safeties are very aggressive and we can get behind those guys using our speed and our talent with Will (Fuller), Hop (DeAndre Hopkins), Tyler (Ervin) and Keke (Coutee) when he’s healthy.”
The winning streak, which leaves the Texans in first place in the AFC South, comes after they opened the season 0-3. Miller is impressed with how the Texans worked together to turn things around, but he isn’t surprised.
TEXANS INJURIES
Several Texans sustained injuries on Thursday night. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph injured his ankle in the first quarter, linebacker Zach Cunningham also left in the first quarter with a knee injury and receiver Will Fuller left the game after injuring his knee in the fourth quarter.
Joseph said he had a sprained ankle, but the coach Bill O’Brien said he didn’t have any details on the severity of the injuries to Cunningham and Fuller after the game.