HOUSTON -- In a time when most NFL teams have shifted to a pass-heavy offense, the Houston Texans -- and their Week 13 opponent, the Green Bay Packers -- choose to have, and feature prominently, a fullback.

Many teams decide not to carry a fullback, who's in for maybe a handful of offensive plays in a game, and instead choose to keep another wide receiver or skill-position player. But Texans coach Bill O’Brien said he sees the importance of having a fullback in his offensive scheme.

“We definitely see value in the position,” O’Brien said. “A fullback on your roster has to be a contributor on special teams, because you’re probably only going to use that type of personnel on offense maybe 10 to 15 times maybe in a game.

“It calms the game down when the fullback is in the game. That’s how I see it.”

The Texans are one of just 12 teams who have recorded at least 100 snaps from fullbacks through Week 12 of this season. (On the flip side, there are 11 NFL teams who have no snaps from a traditional fullback this year.) The Texans have 118 snaps from Jay Prosch. The Packers join them with 173 snaps from the position, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Packers carry two fullbacks on the roster, but go mostly with fullback Aaron Ripkowski on offense. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said having a fullback is “a must on offense.”

“I clearly understand why the position has gone the way it’s gone,” McCarthy said. “A product of that is, you know, college football is part of that, too. You have to be able to run the football in the National Football League, and with that, you know, half of your passing game needs to be play-action and your action passing game and dropback.

“I’ve always been a big believer in the fullback position, but as far as the personnel aspect of it, you got to find those fullbacks that can contribute on special teams because that’s where I think some of the fullbacks over the years have come up short. We’re fortunate there. We have two guys that are good special-teams players and give us that fullback responsibility that we need.”

Prosch has been with the Texans since he was drafted in the sixth round in 2014, O’Brien’s first year with the team.

“The fullback brings a certain toughness to your team,” O’Brien said. “Jay is a very tough individual, tough football player. Jay has had a good year for us. A very unselfish player. Another guy that doesn’t make excuses, just goes out there and tries to do his job to the best of his ability. Very tough, tough kid.”

O’Brien said one of Prosch’s best performances this year was in the Week 10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, when Houston recorded 181 rushing yards. O’Brien awarded Prosch a game ball for his lead blocking in that game.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Prosch said. “We ran the ball hard. It was just one of those games we were pounding the rock and just stuck with the run.”

In that game, Texans starting running back Lamar Miller ran 15 times for 83 yards. Miller said this is the first time in three seasons that he has had a fullback to block for him, and he thinks it makes a big difference.

“Oh, man, [Prosch] does a great job,” Miller said. “Sometimes I just follow him. He gives me a crease, just like the offensive line, so I think he’s been doing a great job as well. It makes a difference. You know, just once you see that linebacker, just having that extra person blocking for you, it helps you as a running back.”

Prosch said Miller is a good player to block for because “he does a good job of setting up blocks, making my job easier so I can do well for him.”

“We have a good connection, and that translates to the field a lot,” Prosch said.