Sunday's performance against the Patriots was one to remember for Ben Tate.
The fourth-year running back scored three touchdowns and rumbled for 102 yards on 22 carries. But ultimately, it wasn't enough to help deliver a win for Houston.
"It would have been great, if we would have won," Tate said. "Once again, we lost. So it takes the fun out of it a little bit."
Tate broke four ribs in the Week 7 loss at Kansas City, but played through that contest as well as
every one since. For left tackle Duane Brown, Tate is a bonafide tough guy.
"I have a huge amount of respect for Ben," Brown said. "I already respected him, but it's gone to another level. When you have that kind of injury, that doesn't just heal as you're playing every week."
It was the first time since November 6 of 2011 that Tate cracked the century mark in rushing yards. It came a week after a seven-carry, one-yard output against the Jaguars.
"I thought Ben played extremely well," head coach Gary Kubiak said. "I knew he would. I knew he'd come back and play well."
The bounce-back output by Tate was a bit hollow to him, in light of the team's peformance.
"Last week was probably one of the worst games we played offensively," Tate said. "So it was a bright
spot in us playing better, but there are no moral victories."
With the three scores, it was the second multi-touchdown effort of Tate's career. He scored a pair of touchdowns last season in a Week 2 win at Jacksonville. He also wound up passing Steve Slaton on the franchise's all-time yards list, and is third behind Arian Foster and Domanick Williams. Quarterback Case Keenum ran for a touchdown of his own, but said it was fun watching Tate run, "making guys miss in the backfield, turning bad plays into good plays, and good plays into great plays and touchdowns."
The Texans signal-caller credited Tate's performance to helping the offense put up 31 points. That total tied the Week 1 win at San Diego for the most all season.
"Ben obviously had a heck a day today," Keenum said. "Having Ben feel a lot better and back to his old self is definitely a spark for our offense."
