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Smith did not have a kick return and had one carry as a running back for seven yards in Sunday's 41-29 win over the Chargers.
Smith is a cornerback by trade as well as a kick returner, but he successfully lobbied Houston's coaches to try him at running back Sunday, per Aaron Wilson of 790 AM SportsTalk. His one carry was a significant one, a red zone touch that preceded four straight handoffs to Rex Burkhead, who eventually scored a touchdown. "We knew we were going to run some outside stuff on this team and we knew speed was important," Texans coach David Culley said. "Tremon runs very well and he's been asking for that anyway. So, we use him in that situation and obviously he helped us today." The Chargers wisely avoided kicking to Smith, who scored a touchdown last week on a kickoff return, and booted five kickoffs for touchbacks. The one kick in play was a pooch kick that landed nowhere near Smith. Burkhead is the established No. 1 running at this stage of the season, but Houston has just one back, Scottie Phillips (ankle), under contract next season. That means Smith could get work on offense over the final two games with an eye toward some type of role there next season.
