The situation in Houston was pretty desperate going winless after the first three weeks of the season, and Texans coach Bill O’Brien was willing to do anything to rectify the problem.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, O’Brien had a more involved approach with the game-planning and play-calling ahead of the team’s 31-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
Head coach Bill O’Brien will be far more involved in game-planning and play-calling, sources say, after attempting to take a step back from both to begin the season. While offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will still physically relay the plays in to quarterback Deshaun Watson, O’Brien will take a heavy hand in which plays are called, just like he was intimately involved with the game plan.
After the game, O’Brien stated that offensive coordinator Tim Kelly was still calling the plays.
“The only difference was in the way we communicated them to Deshaun,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien later clarified that he gave the plays to Deshaun, and insisted that was the only difference compared to the way the operation has been through the prior three games.
In terms of point production, the results were better than they have been all season with 23 points scored. However, the offense was consistently in trail position throughout the game and reacted to the tempo set by the Vikings’ offense.
Part of Houston’s problem is complementary football. Given that the Texans’ defense has trouble stopping the run, opposing offenses know where to get their yards. Similarly, Houston can’t get in a flow to take control of the pace of the game.
Watson was his most productive of the season, completing 20-of-33 for 300 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. However, the ground game was still ineffective with David Johnson rushing 16 times for 63 yards and catching two passes for 29 yards. Receiver Will Fuller logged another 100-yard game as he caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Jordan Akins was more involved in the passing game with three catches for 46 yards.
If O’Brien’s involvement is the key to fixing the Texans’ season, perhaps it should have happened much sooner. With an 0-4 record to bear, Houston has to find solutions on how to win fast.