Who's been listening to the new Drake and 21 Savage album on repeat?
Not RB Dameon Pierce.
"I don't listen to music, I hear it," Pierce said.
Fun fact: Dameon Pierce doesn't wear headphones to listen to music before games. Any music knowledge of the new Drake album has come solely from having it playing in the locker room. Still, his favorite song off the album, when pressed about it, is "BackOutsideBoyz."
Pierce and the Texans are on the road this week to face the New York Giants.
The Giants star running back, Saquon Barkley, leads the NFC and ranks third in the NFL with 779 rushing yards on 163 carries (4.8 average). He leads the Giants in both rushing yards and receptions so far this season.
Not so fun fact: Daniel Jones ranks fourth among NFL quarterbacks in rushing yards with 363 yards through eight games. Only three other quarterbacks have more rushing yards, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson (635), Chicago's Justin Fields (602) and Buffalo's Josh Allen (392).
Lovie Smith Connection of the Week
(Side note: Should I start calling this section, "One degree of separation from Lovie Smith?")
Giants Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka was a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Lovie Smith was head coach there in 2014.
"Now that's going back a little bit," Smiths said. "I think there's some guys that play the game. Where did Mike (Kafka) play? Northwestern? Yeah, it was. I have a son there, so I've given a lot of money to Northwestern. I'm familiar with Mike. I think some guys play the game a certain way and if they want to go into coaching they can. A lot of times, quarterbacks are like that because they have to almost be an assistant coach as they go through the game plans. Mike was that type of guy playing, so it's not surprising guys like that go into coaching and make that transition quickly. I've seen Mike come up, waiting for the opportunity. He's been on a good staff with Andy (Reid), doing an excellent job with the Giants. I know Brian (Daboll) is doing a heck of job with him, but he looks to coordinators and what they're doing."
H-town roots
Jerry Hughes is off to the hottest start of his 13-year career, putting up 7.0 sacks through eight games and is just one of just three NFL players with three or more multi-sack games.
The Sugar Land native is now playing in Houston for the franchise he grew up watching. Hughes was in high school when the city of Houston was awarded the 32nd NFL franchise. Fans had a chance to mail in their votes for the new team name from a list of choices. Hughes picked the Apollos.
"It was something with like a space theme, either like a spaceship or something," Hughes said. "I know they had the Roughnecks, the Texans," Hughes said. "But I went with the space team because I figured we keep it all Comets, Rockets, Astros and so I was just thinking we do that. But I like the Texans, it just branches out and now we get a wider range of fans."
OROY Odds
Offensive Rookie of the Year odds are a hot topic as Pierce's touches and yardage continues to soar each week. Pierce put up career highs in carries (27) and rushing yards (139) against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texans fourth-round draft pick leads all rookies with 678 total rushing yards through Week 9.
"The odds are in my favor, brother," Pierce said.
He's not wrong. Pierce and Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III are leading the OROY pack with better than 2-1 odds right now.
Now that's music to our ears.
The Texans will travel to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants on Sunday. Kickoff is set for noon CT on CBS and SportsRadio 610.
Browse tickets for the next home game vs. the Washington Commanders.
