John McClain says Tom Savage’s progress isn’t showing up in the win column.
If quarterback Tom Savage plays the rest of the season the way he played at Tennessee, the Texans have a chance to defeat San Francisco and Indianapolis to finish 6-10. In the 24-13 loss to the Titans, Savage played the best game of his fouryear career despite injuries on offense that created confusion on that side of the ball.
The Titans, who won for the sixth time in seven games and remained tied with Jacksonville for first place in the AFC South, entered the game in excellent health. They weren’t missing any starters on defense and were without only one on offense.
The Texans haven’t been as fortunate, and no one knows that better than Savage.
Playing behind a makeshift offensive line, including Jeff Allen as his fifth starting left tackle, and with players going down at wide receiver and tight end, Savage put on a courageous performance. He completed 31 of 49 passes for 365 yards and a touchdown.
And he did it with a nonexistent running game that netted 53 yards, or 2.4 per carry.
Savage threw one interception at the worst possible time. It was in the end zone with 1:08 remaining, and it prevented the Texans from pulling off an upset.
Savage withstood a lot of punishment for the second consecutive game.
The Titans sacked Savage four times. They knocked him down nine times. In a six-day span in games at Baltimore and Tennessee, Savage was knocked down 17 times.
“Tom did a good job,” coach Bill O’Brien said Monday. “He played a very gutsy, tough game. He hung in there (and) kept coming back. That’s the kind of guy he is.
“I thought guys made great plays for him.”
DeAndre Hopkins had eight catches for 80 yards. Tight end Stephen Anderson played his best game, totaling five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Anderson, signed as an undrafted free agent last year, will become the starter. C.J. Fiedorowicz suffered another concussion, and it doesn’t make sense for him to keep playing. Ryan Griffin is on injured reserve.
Savage was evaluated for a concussion at halftime. He said after the game there was no way he would come off the field on his own, considering
how many times he’s been sidelined because of injuries.
“He’s been through a lot in his career, and it was good to see him play like that, because a lot of that’s what we see every day in practice,” O’Brien said. “The key is he’s got to continue to do it, and we need to win.
“Tom has really improved. He had the one interception at the end there. I’m sure he would love to have that throw back, and I’d love to probably have that play call back.”
Savage’s interception was a killer. Hopkins was using a double move to try to get open in the end zone.
The play came with the Texans trailing 17-13 with 1:13 remaining. The Texans had a first down at the Titans’ 29.
It’s difficult to blame Savage for trying to win the game by throwing for what good have been the winning touchdown to his best receiver. Titans cornerback LeShaun Sims made a great play in the end zone, where Hopkins was unable to make the second move because Sims got in the way before making the interception.
Nobody has to tell Savage he has to eliminate turnovers and the only thing that counts is winning. He never fails to point that out in his sessions with the media.
Unfortunately for Savage, the Texans have won once in his five starts since he replaced Deshaun Watson. That was the Texans’ last home game against Arizona, a 31-21 victory.
That conquest of the Cardinals is the only game during that fivegame stretch that the Texans scored more than one offensive touchdown.
The Texans have been able to scare the Ravens (7-5) and Titans (8-4) in the fourth quarter, but they’ve failed to produce when they had chances to escape with victories.
Whether it’s because of ineptitude or injuries — it’s a combination of both, really — they just can’t take advantage of opportunities.
In Sunday’s game against the 49ers at NRG Stadium, which marks quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s second start for the 49ers, Savage needs a performance
similar to the one he put on in Nashville.
Without the interception, of course.
“Anybody who watched that (Tennessee) game, if you know anything about football, I would tell you that he played a very good game,” O’Brien said. “He made some big plays for us — scrambled to get Anderson a touchdown, scrambled on fourthand-19 to throw it to Anderson again (for 22 yards).
“We were 8-for-16 on third down. A lot of that has to do with him and his ability to keep a play alive and step up in the pocket and deliver a football accurately. He’s not going to talk to you about stats, but I will. I’ll tell you that I think he took a big step yesterday.”
Now Savage has to take more big steps, beginning Sunday against San Francisco (2-10). Savage has four more games to improve and show teams he’s worthy of a new contract.
“I think he’s proven he can play in this league, whether it was Arizona or the (Tennessee) game or even the Baltimore game,” O’Brien said. “If you really study the tape, the guy’s done some good things relative to playing quarterback in the National Football League.
“He cares about the team. He doesn’t care about his stats. All he cares about is winning. He’s been a lot of fun to coach and to watch improve. He’s gotten better, no doubt about it.”