John McClain analyzes the loss to the Colts and the Texans’ late bid for a win.
After poor play for more than three quarters, Savage & Co. nearly engineer winning surge
As bad as their passing game was without injured quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans were still in a position to pull out a victory over Indianapolis with his replacement, Tom Savage.
The offensively challenged Texans trailed the Colts 20-7 with 9:12 left in Sunday’s game at NRG Stadium. Their only touchdown had come on a strip sack by safety Eddie Pleasant and a 34-yard fumble return for a touchdown by outside linebacker Lamarr Houston in the second quarter.
With the clock expiring in what would become a 20-14 defeat, the Texans had two possessions that could have produced a victory, elevated their record at 4-4, left them in contention in the AFC South and, in all likelihood, saved their season. But it wasn’t to be. “We got a drive at the end, and we got enough opportunities and just couldn’t put it in,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “It’s definitely disappointing, but we have eight games left.”
The Texans following the Astros winning the World Series with a come-from-behind victory with Savage in place of Watson was just too much to ask for Houston fans riding an emotional roller coaster.
Through three quarters, Savage was 8-of-26 for 81 yards and a 40.7 rating. When the Texans got the ball at their 25 with 9:12 left after Adam Vinatieri’s 53-yard field goal, Savage was a different quarterback.
Revived Savage takes over
It took the Texans six plays to go 75 yards, with the payoff coming on Savage’s 34-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins, who made an outstanding catch in the end zone against double coverage. There was 6:11 remaining.
Savage was 4-of-4 for 64 yards on that possession, and he looked like a new and improved quarterback. Fans — what was left of them, anyway — came to life because they sensed what could be a miraculous comeback victory.
“That’s why we practice — drive the ball down the field and end up with a touchdown,” said Hopkins, who scored his eighth touchdown. “We have to do it more. “Guys have to focus more, including myself.”
Down by six, the Texans needed the defense to force a threeand-out, but the defense had been embarrassed by quarterback Jacoby Brissett and receiver T.Y. Hilton, who had collaborated on touchdowns of 45 and 80 yards, and the threat of a third one loomed large.
The Colts took over at their 25. After one first down, they faced third-and-2 at their 44. Rather than run Frank Gore, who had been stuffed for most of the game, Brissett dropped back to pass and was dropped for a 10-yard sack by Benardrick McKinney with 4:10 left.
But wait! There was a yellow flag in the Texans secondary. Johnathan Joseph, who had been beaten on Hilton’s first touchdown pass, was called for holding, giving the Colts a first down at their 49.
The Colts had three more plays before they had to punt, but valuable time ran off the clock. When the Texans got the ball back for one last possession, they started at their 20 with 3:10 remaining.
Despite giving up long touchdown passes, committing penalties at the worst time, missing tackles, overthrowing and underthrowing passes and making so many mistakes — but no turnovers at that point — the Texans could have won the game.
Remember, the Colts came to Houston ranked 31st in defense (406.8 yards), including 31st against the pass (290.4). They were trying to protect their lead against an offense whose passing game had been discombobulated the entire game.
“It (first touchdown) showed we can move the ball,” Hopkins said. “We have to be more consistent and not wait until late to pick things up.”
The Texans waited late Sunday but not too late because they put themselves in position to win.
Working from his 20 with 3:10 left, Savage picked up where he left off on the previous series.
Savage was 6-of-8 passing for 59 yards and a first down at the Colts’ 7 with 18 seconds remaining. O’Brien had one timeout left and said he was saving it for a fourth-down situation.
Savage threw incomplete to Bruce Ellington on first down and incomplete to Stephen Anderson on second. On third-and-goal, seven seconds remained. He tried to connect with Hopkins in the left side of the end zone, but he was engulfed by Colts.
On the other side of the end zone, Will Fuller had broken free and was open, but Savage never looked his way.
The outcome was determined on fourth-and-goal from the 7 with two seconds left. After O’Brien used his last timeout, Savage dropped back, the clock expired, and before he could get off a pass, he was blindsided by linebacker Jabaal Sheard, who beat left tackle Chris Clark for a strip sack that ended the game.
Clock was their enemy
Looking back, Joseph’s penalty kept the Texans from having more time. After Savage’s last two completions to Ellington (6 yards) and Hopkins (10), they let too much time run off the clock.
“Everybody’s got to be faster,” O’Brien said. “Get the call in as fast as we can, and we have to get lined up faster.
“It starts with me and goes from there. In that situation, you’re saving that (last) timeout for a key fourth-down call. So I really don’t want to hear any BS about clock management.
“Tom tried to do the best he could. We got lined up as fast as we could. We’ve practiced the two-minute (drill) every week, and we just didn’t get it done.”
And with this offense, they’re going to have a difficult time getting it done against everybody.
If the Texans can’t beat the Colts at NRG Stadium, they could struggle to win any game the rest of the season.