Houston Texans: 5 Reasons Benching Brock Osweiler Was Right Move
Dec 18, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) and defensive end J.J. Watt (center) and defensive end Antonio Smith (94) stand on the sideline during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Brock Osweiler was benched by the Houston Texans in Week 15 after a frustrating first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which was the smart move.
When looking at how many opportunities the Houston Texans have given Brock Osweiler to prove himself at quarterback, the decision to bench him in the first half during the team’s Week 15 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars seemed overdue.
After completing just 6 of 11 passes for 48 yards to go along with two interceptions, the Texans made the tough decision to bench Osweiler for Tom Savage against the Texans, which was a surprising move when considering the team is currently battling for a playoff spot.
In fact, Houston is in a three-way race with the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans for the AFC South title, so Bill O’Brien‘s frustration over Osweiler must have hit a whole new level if he was willing to bench his quarterback this late in the season.
To top it off, Savage was effective right away after completing 5 of 7 passes for 72 yards before halftime. So clearly it’s Osweiler that’s the problem for the Texans struggling on offense. The move may seem questionable for a team in the mix for the playoffs this late in the season, but here are five reasons why O’Brien and the Texans made the right decision to bench Osweiler against the Jaguars in Week 15.
Dec 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) calls a directs running back Jonathan Grimes (41) in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
5. Osweiler’s Disappointing Numbers
Prior to Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, Osweiler already ranked near the bottom of the league when compared to the rest of the quarterbacks from a production standpoint. In 13 games heading into Sunday, Osweiler had only thrown for 2,656 yards to go along with 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, which is beyond embarrassing for a quarterback that signed a $72 million deal with the Texans in the offseason.
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After throwing two more interceptions against the Jaguars, this means that Osweiler heads into the final two games of the regular season with more picks than actual touchdown passes. For a quarterback that was supposed to take Houston’s offense to the next level after struggling throughout the 2015 season, it’s amazing to think Osweiler hasn’t done a single thing to improve this unit during his first season under center.
What makes this situation even more frustrating is Osweiler is guaranteed to make $37 million over the first two seasons of that ridiculous contract he signed in the offseason. There were plenty of terrible contracts from the 2016 offseason, but there’s a good chance Osweiler’s will go down as the worst when taking a closer look at his numbers from the first 14 games.
Nov 27, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) makes a reception during the fourth quarter as San Diego Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward (26) defends at NRG Stadium. The Chargers won 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
4. Production From DeAndre Hopkins is Down
Fantasy football owners that selected DeAndre Hopkins in the first or second round of their drafts have been kicking themselves all season when seeing how the wide receiver’s production has been down from the previous two years. The fact that Hopkins caught 187 passes for 2,731 yards with 17 touchdowns from 2014-15 made fans excited to see what the wideout would bring to the table with an upgraded quarterback in Osweiler.
Instead, Osweiler hasn’t been able to take advantage of having one of the league’s most elite wide receivers as Hopkins entered Sunday’s game only catching 60 passes for 701 yards with only four touchdowns. Most quarterbacks would flourish by having a talented player like Hopkins as their top target in the passing game. Not Osweiler, though, as he’s failed to take advantage of the amazing situation all season.
If Osweiler can’t even be successful by having a player like Hopkins to work with, how on earth is he supposed to be effective as a starter in the NFL? When seeing at all of the excitement by teammates when Osweiler was brought on board in the offseason, it’s tough not to feel bad for a player like Hopkins as this year could end up hurting him in the long run when he’s up for a new contract.
Dec 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) runs away from Houston Texans defensive end Jadevon Clowney (90) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
3. AFC South is Weakest Division in NFL
From a talent perspective, there’s no reason why Houston shouldn’t have been able to run away with the AFC South title this season when compared to Indianapolis and Tennessee (sorry, Jaguars). If the Texans found a way to win the division last year with a stellar defense and an average offense, the addition of Osweiler was supposed to make them heavy favorites to win the AFC South.
Unfortunately, the final two weeks will determine whether Houston will get to host a playoff game in January or find themselves watching from home instead. The fact that numerous teams battling for a Wild Card spot in the AFC currently have better records than the Texans shows just how bad this division turned out to be for the 2016 season.
When looking back at some of the losses suffered by Houston this year, they easily could have locked up the division by now instead of waiting to see how the final two weeks play out. Osweiler and the Texans had an advantage over some of the other contenders in the AFC by playing in a weak division like the AFC South, but now it doesn’t even look like it’s going to matter.
There’s been plenty of low points for the way Osweiler and the offense has played this year, but failing to win the division when seeing their competition would be the icing on the cake for Houston.
Nov 27, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) dives for a touchdown against the San Diego Chargers in the second quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
2. Osweiler Was Inexperienced
When Peyton Manning decided to call it a career after winning the Super Bowl last February, the Denver Broncos were hoping to see Osweiler become the new quarterback to build the franchise around. While John Elway seemed frustrated over his quarterback bolting for the Texans in free agency, it’s safe to say the Broncos got the last laugh in this situation.
Elway was smart about not going out of his way to overpay Osweiler at quarterback, with one of the main reasons being he simply wasn’t that experienced as a starter. There were plenty of bright moments from Osweiler’s end when he took over for Manning at times during the 2015 season. But it was clear he still had a long way to go before he could be considered an effective starter at the NFL level.
No quarterback with seven career starts deserved to be making the type of money that Osweiler signed on for when joining the Texans in the offseason, but that was a decision the organization felt confident in. After seeing how the offense has looked throughout his first season as the starter, Houston will certainly look back at this poor decision and realize they may have jumped the gun when it comes to paying Osweiler the type of money he’s robbing the team of.
Nov 13, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) points out coverage during the second quarter of a football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
1. Osweiler Couldn’t Handle the Pressure
At the end of the day, it’s difficult not to wonder if the pressure of taking Houston’s offense to an elite level just caught up with Osweiler. As mentioned before, most quarterbacks would do anything to be in the type of position Osweiler found himself in at the beginning of the season. It wouldn’t have taken much for the offense to improve when compared to last year.
Not only was Osweiler feeling the pressure at the beginning of the season due to the hefty amount of money he would be making from the Texans over the next few seasons, but the argument can be made that expectations also played a key factor. If Houston was able to reach the playoffs last year with an average offense, excitement was beginning to build up over this team becoming one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl now that a quarterback like Osweiler was on board.
Over the years, it was an ineffective quarterback holding the Texans back from reaching the next level of being contenders in the AFC. After Osweiler’s benching against one of the league’s worst teams in Jacksonville, there’s a good chance Houston could be right back where they started in the offseason when it comes to searching for a quarterback to take this team to the next level.
