I was mocked when I suggested Osweiler might respond to the benching by stepping up his game and what did he do? Played turnover-free football within the confines of the ultra-conservative gameplan. On the opening drive, the Texans marched inside the Oakland 40 and had a 4th-and-3. At least 75% of the teams in the league would have gone for it on 4th down but not this one - just punt the ball away, knowing their FG kicker can't hit a 55-yarder.
It worked out because Novak was able to hit from 50 on the next possession but it shows how little confidence O'Brien has in the offense convert for first downs. The second half was entirely Woody Hayes football. Given that, a 14-for-25 day with no picks isn't such a bad day. It won't beat the Patriots but the one thing Houston will have on their side is that there's no way the Patriots will be motivated to play us. They can't possibly think less of us than they already do so let's take some gambles and hope for a James "Busted" Douglas type of result.
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01-08-2017, 09:14 AM
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