It’s come to this: Win or place last
A more productive air game essential to avoid unthinkable
The Texans are on a collision course with Indianapolis to avoid the AFC South basement.
If the Texans lose the last game at Indianapolis, both teams will finish 4-12. But the Texans will be in last place plunging from first to worst — because they will have been swept by the Colts.
The Texans own a five-game losing streak, and they’ve lost eight of nine.
The Colts have a six-game losing streak, and they’ve lost nine of 10.
The Texans and Colts have something else in common: Both have suffered a rash of injuries, depleting their roster, and both starting quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson and Andrew Luck — are on the shelf.
At least Watson got to play this season.
How badly do the Texans miss Watson?
In his six starts, they averaged 34.6 points. Without Watson, the Texans have averaged 13.7. In their five-game skid, they’ve averaged 11.6.
The passing game is so pathetic they might not be able to defeat the Colts even though DeAndre Hopkins has been phenomenal with 96 catches for 1,378 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Here’s a good example of just how bad the passing game was in Monday’s 34-6 loss to Pittsburgh. The Texans had one more completion than sacks and penalties.
That’s eight completions, seven sacks and seven penalties. Want more evidence? The Texans finished with a net 51 yards passing. That’s 29 fewer yards than they were penalized.
At a time when the running game generated a season-high 176 yards, the passing game was wretched.
For a chance to beat the Colts and avoid the division cellar, quarterback T.J. Yates has to play better. It’s hard to imagine him playing any worse than Christmas Day.
Asked what happened against the Steelers, Yates didn’t hesitate.
“I’ve got to be a lot better,” he said. “It’s extremely frustrating. We have to start faster.
“Not getting points until the third and fourth quarter isn’t going to cut it against anybody in this league. We’ve got to do a better job on offense, scoring early just to change the momentum of the game.”
Make no mistake — the Texans have every intention of beating the Colts and finishing 5-11.
“In the division, you don’t want to end up in last place,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “It’s very important to try to win this game and not be in last place.”
Focus not an issue
A small crowd is expected at Lucas Oil Stadium.
There might be more noise coming from Cleveland than from Colts fans.
The Browns want the Texans to lose because they own their first- and second-round picks. Another defeat, and Cleveland gets a higher pick because of the Watson trade.
Coaches and players say pride figures into a game that has no playoff implications.
“That’s a big part of it,” O’Brien said. “I think there’s a lot of pride relative to being a professional but also a division rival, somebody that’s been our rival for a long time.
“I think part of it is making sure we’re ready to go. Neither of us are going to the playoffs, but this is kind of like our playoff game. Let’s see how we can finish the season, see if that puts us ending on a good note heading into the offseason.”
O’Brien doesn’t believe his coaches and players will have a problem being focused on the last game.
“No, I don’t think it is with this group,” he said. “Maybe with other groups it might be but not with this group.”
Jobs are on the line — players and coaches. Both rosters will have a huge turnover.
Sunday is expected to be Chuck Pagano’s last game as the Colts’ coach. There have been reports O’Brien could be fired. That’s up to owner Bob McNair.
Regardless, O’Brien is adamant he’ll have his team ready to play the Colts, and nobody will be making vacation plans. At least not Sunday.
“It’s very easy for me to focus on trying to get this team ready to play,” O’Brien said. “A good game plan, trying to get the coaches (to) make sure they understand how we want to practice this week, how we want to meet, what we want to talk about (and) how we want to play the game.”
This week is quite a contrast from 2016, when O’Brien was preparing his team for the 16th game. They had clinched a second consecutive AFC South title. They knew they would play a wild-card game at home.
O’Brien rested a lot of starters, and they lost the last game at Tennessee. What a difference a year can make.
“I think there’s definitely a difference,” he said. “I don’t think it means you’re putting in less time.
“It’s just that if you’re in a playoff run, you’d be crazy to say that it’s the same as where we are now.”
A professional duty
If the Texans lose, they’ll be 1-5 in the AFC South, with the lone victory over the Titans when Watson was healthy.
“The thing that’s key for our players and our coaches to understand is we have to be ready to go Sunday because that’s what our responsibility is as professional coaches and professional players,” O’Brien said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.
“These guys are going to prepare hard and practice hard, and we’ll go up there and try to find a way to win.”