Texans Lose David Montgomery and Jalen Pitre to the 'Week-to-Week' Void

The Houston Texans just handed the Tennessee Titans a 26-3 beatdown, but the victory lap is already getting cut short by the trainer's room. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that head coach DeMeco Ryans has officially labeled running back David Montgomery and safety Jalen Pitre as week-to-week.

In NFL coach-speak, "week-to-week" is the ultimate non-answer. It is the medical equivalent of telling your boss you will circle back on an email. It basically means neither guy is playing this Sunday, but the team does not want to commit to putting them on injured reserve just yet.

"DeMeco Ryans labeled both injuries as 'week-to-week.'"

Montgomery is dealing with a groin injury, which is arguably the worst possible news for a running back. A groin issue for a guy who makes a living cutting and absorbing contact is like a check-engine light on a used car. You can try to ignore it, but eventually, you are going to end up stranded on the side of the road.

On the other side of the ball, Pitre is nursing a shoulder injury. He is the enforcer in the Houston secondary, and taking his aggressive tackling out of the lineup leaves a noticeable dent in the defense.

The silver lining for Houston is that they are coming off a blowout win where everything clicked. They have a little bit of breathing room to let these guys heal up properly instead of rushing them back onto the field at 70 percent capacity.

Still, this double blow shifts the math for anyone holding Texans tickets. Fantasy managers need to be sprinting to the waiver wire to grab whoever is next up in the Houston backfield. Meanwhile, bettors will have to adjust how they look at the Texans' rushing props and defensive totals without two key starters in the mix.

We will get a better sense of the actual timeline when practice reports drop later this week. Until then, expect Montgomery and Pitre to be wearing sweatpants on the sideline.