Texans Must Move Beyond Brock Osweiler and His Contract to Finally Compete

Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien made a savage yet necessary decision Sunday when he corrected the organization’s $72 million mistake and benched quarterback Brock Osweiler.

Backup Tom Savage entered the contest and immediately looked like the best quarterback on the field. 

“That was a gutsy call,” owner Bob McNair said after the game, per the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson. “I’m glad I didn’t have to make decision. It was for the good of the team” 

The third-year quarterback, who played in his first regular-season contest since his rookie campaign, completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 260 yards and led his team to a 21-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. 

Houston improved to 8-6 overall after Sunday’s outcome and sits atop the AFC South due to a tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans. 

“I’ve always felt good about Tom,” O’Brien said, per the Houston Chronicle’s Brian T. Smith

Even so, O’Brien wouldn’t commit to either quarterback after the contest. He doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter, though. Savage deserves to be the Texans’ starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

The difference in play between Houston’s two signal-callers was staggering. 

Prior to being benched, Osweiler completed six of 11 passes for 48 yards and a pair of interceptions. Sunday’s performance became an extension of an entire season’s worth of below-average play. 

Before Sunday’s contest, the 6’8″ signal-caller ranked 26th overall in passing yards (2,656), 28th in completion percentage (59.7 percent) and last among qualified quarterbacks in average yards per attempt (5.79). According to Pro Football Focus, the Texans quarterback owns the worst grade among his position group. 

Paralysis through analysis is the best way to describe Osweiler’s play. He’s too afraid to challenge defenses and relies heavily on checkdowns. That is why his average yards per attempt doesn’t eclipse six yards.

When the Arizona State product does take chances, he often makes the wrong reads and gets pressured into miscues or turnovers. 

But the Texans never took the time to fully understand the person before committing to him as their “franchise” quarterback. 

The MMQB’s Peter King detailed how ludicrous …

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