Pierce (ankle) is expected to miss Sunday's matchup against Kansas City, Brooks Kubena and Jonathan Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Pierce suffered a left ankle sprain during Sunday's 27-23 loss to Dallas. While he was able to play through the issue in Week 14, he's expected to miss at least one game and it's believed he could be sidelined for up to three contests, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com. The rookie running back had totaled 1,104 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns this season, so his absence would be a big blow to Houston's offense. Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale figure to handle most of the backfield work in Pierce's absence, but the Texans may also elevate Royce Freeman and/or Gerrid Doaks from the practice squad as well.