Can Arian Foster be stopped by the Jaguars?

Arian Foster is one of the best running backs in the NFL and the Houston Texans have been without him for much for 2015.

Originally concerned that Foster may be out for around half the season, the Texans can breathe a sigh of relief after getting the talented runner back just four weeks in.

Unfortunately, having Arian Foster in the backfield isn’t enough to compensate for many of the struggles on both sides of the ball for the Texans. Two games in and the running back has just 51 yards on 21 attempts.

Still, Foster figures to be the “x-factor” in the football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars and it will be critical to slow him down if the Jags hope to win the game.

At this point in time there probably isn’t a coach in the league that thinks Foster’s 1.89 yards per attempt average is going to hold. The running back is simply too good for that to be the case. He’ll likely break one for a big gain in the near future and with the Jaguars hot off allowing Doug Martin to abuse them, they seem primed to be that team.

Foster is familiar with the Jaguars and has had some great games running against the team. Whether he can get going after his return from injury is the big question. Is it time for Foster to return to form or is he still struggling with lingering problems?

Four of the last five seasons have been 1200+ yard rushing seasons for Foster and just eight games in 2013 had him on pace for another 1000 yard season. He has never had a season with an average per rush of under 4.1 yards per carry. So far, 2015 has been nothing more than a fluke. There’s plenty of running left in his legs and he has the skill to do it well.

Arian Foster is a powder keg, waiting to explode on the next poor defense that gets in his way. After a miserable time missing tackles last week, I worry that the Jaguars will be that next defense.

The Jags still have a strong defense that can limit running backs. The game against Martin could be nothing more than an interesting outlier by the end of the season. But with a talent like Arian Foster up next, it’s worth questioning this defense again.

Can Foster be stopped? I certainly hope so, but at this point I’m not certain I can say with confidence that the Jags can shut him down.

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