A LITTLE LUCK MIGHT GO FAR
It was far from pretty, but in this off-kilter season, things are breaking just right in the AFC for a playoff surprise
Randy Bullock blew it. Bill O’Brien’s defense-first, offensively challenged Texans are in the playoffs. Again.
Who needs touchdowns when you have Romeo Crennel’s D? And thanks to Bullock’s unbelievable wide-right miss, O’Brien’s Texans are back-to-back AFC South champs.
Hang another banner on Christmas day. Because Crennel put in the hard work on the eve, Tom Savage did just enough and O’Brien’s Texans are returning to the postseason.
“It doesn’t matter what it looked like,” O’Brien said. “Back in the playoffs. Looking forward to the playoffs.”
For the fourth time in six years, the Texans’ season won’t end when the regular season does, thanks to a gritty 12-10 victory over Cincinnati at NRG Stadium on a Saturday night that was mostly devoted to field goals, flags and punts, and came down to Bullock’s 43-yard blunder. For the 9-6 Texans, it was enough.
Savage completed just two first-half passes and only threw for 176 yards. But he didn’t turn the ball over and ignited a game-winning four-play, 75-yard TD drive that set up Bullock’s last-second failure.
“It just says so much about that locker room,” said Savage, referring to the resilience that has come to define Texans football during the O’Brien era.
All those quarterbacks and injuries. Back-to-back playoff runs, this time without J.J. Watt. The division and another home postseason game were there for the taking hours before kickoff.
Marcus Mariota fractured his fibula and Tennessee broke in two while the Texans were trying to figure out if Lamar Miller would play. Apparently inspired by Gus Bradley’s Week 15 firing in Houston, Blake Bortles rediscovered his arm and Jacksonville destroyed the Titans 38-17, placing the Texans one win from a wild-card game.
Oakland’s Derek Carr fractured his fibula a few hours later, opening the top of the AFC up and providing the conference’s second-tier teams — Kansas City, Miami, Pittsburgh, Texans — with another opening to make a surprise January run.
Cleveland and Colin Kaepernick also won for what felt like the first time in years, reminding us that this has been an odd NFL year since Week 1 and anything could happen when the regular season ends.
Add in that Cincinnati wide receiver A.J. Green was out and Katy’s Andy Dalton was back in the town he usually loses in, and the Texans were staring at their biggest Christmas Eve gift in years, if not ever.
A week after the $72 million man was coldly booed and unceremoniously benched, a $600,000 guy ran through a tunnel surrounded by flames and was greeted by a screaming stadium shrouded in darkness.
Watt watched from the sideline. Andre Johnson was there.
Then the Texans’ version of reality kicked back in.
Savage was sacked once during the Texans’ initial series, twice on the next and stared at third-and-23 near his end zone with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first quarter. While the offensive line let the new guy down, Savage initially did little: 1-of-5, six yards, five punts.
Alfred Blue struggled to replace Miller’s smooth electricity; the Texans’ offense mirrored the same one that produced 13-0 Jaguars a week ago. With 4:58 left in the first half, the Texans’ six drives totaled six Shane Lechler punts. Throw in a 6-for-6 early puntfest from the eliminated Bengals, and Pacman Jones’ “garbage” rant was two weeks ahead of its time.
Cincy made history Saturday when it made a couple of consecutive first downs. And when Bullock, an ex-Texan, drilled a 43-yard field goal as the clock hit :00 in the first half, it was 3-0 Bengals and two first downs, 1.5 average yards and 34 total for the Texans’ stinky offense. Garbage. The boos returned with 5:35 left in the second quarter, despite Brock Osweiler being stuck on the sideline and Savage getting national TV time.
The Texans’ playcard holders opened the floodgates as the second half began. Savage went 6-of-7 for 53 yards, C.J. Fiedorowicz returned to the picture and the never-that-composed Bengals penalized the Texans into Cincy’s red zone. Then the drive, of course, died and Nick Novak tied Bullock at 3.
Jadeveon Clowney’s Pro Bowl year continued with a Dalton crack, though. Whitney Mercilus returned with two takedowns, and the Texans’ defense did what it’s done all season.
The only problem: Outside of Crennel, Novak was gunning for the Texans’ in-game MVP.
Even when Dalton was picked off and the Texans took over at the Bengals’ 40 with 12:48 to go, O’Brien’s offense went nowhere.
Make the playoffs with just a few more points. Let the falling-apart Bengals fracture and divide once again.
But, man, were those points so hard to come by. And then Brandon LaFell torched Crennel’s secondary for an 86-yard burner with 10:45 left. Savage time? Could the Texans score a touchdown with the postseason on the line? Yes to both.
Savage rumbled off 11 yards on the ground. He connected with DeAndre Hopkins for 21. Then it was Blue bouncing up the middle and, the end zone.
O’Brien’s team had done enough. The playoffs were waiting. Again.