What’s better than beating the Indianapolis Colts, improving to 7-4, and taking first place in the AFC South.
Getting the weekend off.
Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien gave his club the weekend off following the team’s big win over their division rivals Thursday night at NRG Stadium.
O’Brien was subtle in the way he told his team they had a three-day off period upcoming via FOX cameras inside the postgame locker room.
“You guys played great team football,” O’Brien said. “Started, you know, when you came back from Baltimore, you turned the page. You guys did a great job of turning the page. You did a good job of playing good, team football tonight. And, you guys, that’s a hell of a win. What that does is that sets you up to be in the hunt now as you enter into December. This is a big, big stretch right now.
“We’ve got to take care of our bodies. We’ve got to be ready to steady. We’ve got to be ready to go at a moment’s notice. We’ve got to see each other on Monday.”
The locker room erupted in cheers and adulation.
Houston will need to use the mini-bye to get ready for a formidable opponent coming into NRG Stadium for Week 13 on Sunday Night Football, the New England Patriots. The 9-1 No. 1 seed in the AFC will play Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium. Whereas the Patriots will have a standard week in getting ready for the Texans, Houston will have three advantages: the weekend off, a week to prepare, and the game at home in their venue.
The win over the Colts makes it three consecutive seasons the Texans have produced a win on Thursday Night Football. Their last loss was a 27-0 shutout at the hands of Jacoby Brissett in Week 3 of 2016 at New England.