Texans running back Arian Foster was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, the NFL announced today. Foster set several single-game team rushing records with a historic opening day performance and leads the NFL with 406 yards rushing, 502 total yards and 27 first downs gained in three games played this season.
In just the seventh game and second start of his career, Foster carried the ball 33 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-24 season-opening win against Indianapolis. His rushing total set a team record and was the second-most on Kickoff Weekend in NFL history, trailing only Hall of Fame RB O.J. Simpson, who ran for 250 yards on 29 carries vs. New England on September 16, 1973. Foster was the first player to rush for 200 yards and three touchdowns on Kickoff Weekend in NFL history.
Foster also set a Texans single-game record for carries and tied a team record with three rushing touchdowns. The rushing total eclipsed Domanick Williams' former team record of 158 yards, set against Jacksonville in 2004, and marked the first 200-yard individual rushing effort in Texans history.
In addition to his opening game feats, Foster posted 138 total yards (69 rushing and 69 receiving) in a 30-27 overtime win at Washington and picked up 106 yards rushing on 17 carries against Dallas in Week 3. He has averaged 5.9 yards per carry with 69 rushing attempts and ranks fourth on the team with 96 yards receiving on eight receptions.
Originally undrafted out of Tennessee in 2009, the 6-1, 227-pound Foster is a main component in the Texans ranking fifth in the NFL in rushing in 2010, after the team ranked 31st in the NFL in 2009. Foster is one of only three running backs to have a reception of 50 yards or greater this season and he is only 32 yards shy of surpassing the Texans leading rushing total of 2009, 437 yards.
Foster joins teammate wide receiver Andre Johnson (October, 2008) as the only Texans honored as AFC Offensive Player of the Month in franchise history. Nine Texans have been named player of the month in the team's history.
