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J.J. Watt Injury Adds to Mounting Pressure on Brock Osweiler, Texans Offense
- Updated: September 28, 2016
Brock Osweiler got a little more than he bargained for when the Houston Texans signed the quarterback to a four-year $72 million contract in free agency.
For too long, the Texans relied on defensive end J.J. Watt as the team’s on-field general and primary play-maker. It’s now Osweiler’s turn to pick up the slack after the all-world defender re-injured his back, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
Sources: #Texans star DL JJ Watt has re-injured his back and is expected to be out for an extended period of time. Could be the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 28, 2016
While the extent of the injury has yet to be revealed, Watt will likely end up on injured reserve thus ending his season, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo:
Expectation is indeed that JJ Watt is headed to IR soon. Awful news for Texans.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 28, 2016
The injury couldn’t come at a worse time for Osweiler. This may be an odd statement with Watt reeling due to a major injury, but the quarterback hasn’t looked like the franchise-caliber prospect the organization envisioned when he signed.
In fact, the 6’8″ gunslinger is coming off a terrible performance against the New England Patriots. Osweiler completed 24-of-41 passes for only 196 yards and an interception. The Arizona State product took full blame for the team’s 27-0 loss.
“I think any time an offense struggles with developing a rhythm, struggles with scoring points, I think the first thing you have to examine is the quarterback,” Osweiler said, per ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop. “I’ll take the blame for this one. Any time a team doesn’t score points, it’s on me.”
He added, “I need to play better so I can give this team an opportunity to win ball games like this.”
Prior to the Patriots contest, Osweiler didn’t exactly set the NFL on fire. Against the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs, the quarterback completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 499 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. Overall, the Texans rank 24th in total offense and 27th in …
