Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton was benched Sunday after fumbling the ball for the seventh time this season, then watched his replacement, Ryan Moats, set a franchise record with three touchdowns in one game.
Moats finished with 126 rushing yards and 25 receiving yards in the Texans' 31-10 road victory over the Buffalo Bills, and Houston coach Gary Kubiak wouldn't say if the five-year NFL veteran has taken over the starting job for good.
Slaton, meanwhile, tried to keep things in perspective.
"It's definitely frustrating," said Slaton, who rushed for a team-high 1,282 yards as a rookie last season and fumbled just three times in 16 games. "You always want to be out there and help your team win. But I mean, my team needed me to support. So I gave 100 percent support."
On the Texans' third possession, Slaton caught a short pass over the middle and gained 7 yards before having the ball popped out of his hand by Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny and recovered by defensive tackle Marcus Stroud at the Buffalo 42.
Slaton, who has lost five fumbles this season, didn't return to the game after that play.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
