Pain in the butt: Foster endures muscle spasm in glute vs. Titans

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, who sat out the final 10 minutes of Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans, cited a muscle spasm in his glute -- not his sore ankle -- as the reason for leaving the game, according to the Houston Chronicle on Monday.

Foster missed practice time before the Titans game with an ankle sprain.

The Titans held Arian Foster, the NFL's rushing leader with 1,330 yards coming in, to a season-low 15 yards on 11 carries.

Before the Titans loss, Foster's lowest output was 25 yards on 11 carries against the New York Giants on Oct. 10.

Foster has burst onto the scene in his second season. He rushed for 257 yards in 2009, but eclipsed that number in his first two games this season following a 231-yard outburst against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Texans bench Foster for first quarter in 'coach's decision'

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Arian Foster, the NFL's leading rusher, didn't start for the Houston Texans in Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders.

The Texans said Foster's absence was a "coach's decision."

Foster didn't play in the first quarter and was on the bench for the first drive of the second quarter. He entered the game with just under seven minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Backups Steve Slaton and Derrick Ward got off to a good start. Ward scored on a 33-yard touchdown run on Houston's opening drive, and Slaton had 47 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter.

Foster leads the NFL with 406 rushing yards through four games.

Houston played without leading wide receiver Andre Johnson, who was inactive with a sprained right ankle.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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