O’Brien: Focus on Eagles, not playoff seeding
As advantageous of a position the Texans find themselves in by virtue of Pittsburgh’s victory over New England, that positive development has not changed their immediate focus.
Although the Texans have a clear path to earning the second playoff seed in the AFC and a first-round bye for the first time in franchise history, any missteps in the final two games of the regular season would damage or dash those hopes.
The Texans have not clinched the AFC South or even a playoff berth yet. To do so, they have to keep winning.
And that starts anew Sunday on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia (7-7), which is coming off of an impressive victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Texans can finish 12-4 to match their best regular-season record, achieved in 2012 under former coach Gary Kubiak.
They have to take care of business, though, against an Eagles team that includes tight end Zach Ertz, defensive lineman Fletcher Cox and dangerous return specialist Darren Sproles.
“You’ve put yourself in a position, and now it’s all about the Philadelphia Eagles,” coach Bill
O’Brien said. “That’s the big deal. If you start thinking about this, that, all these scenarios … then you’re going to be way ahead of yourself. Because you should be thinking about, ‘OK, how am I going to get open against this corner for Philly? How am I going to block Fletcher Cox? How are we going to cover Zach Ertz? When we have to punt to Sproles, how are we going to tackle him?’ Everybody’s focus should be the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Pass protection needs major repairs
Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sacked 11 times in the last two games, including six in Saturday’s victory over the Jets, and has been sacked an NFL-high 52 times and hit 110 times overall.
Although Watson has remained healthy since a rib injury earlier this season, there always is cause for concern about his absorbing a punishing blow. Not to mention how much the sacks cause losses of yardage and disrupt drives for a Texans team that beat the Jets despite going 1-for-9 on third-down conversions and 1-for-4 in the red zone.
“It’s not good, no doubt about it,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “We’ve got to try to fix it, but it’s always pinned on the offensive line. There are certain things that, without giving you all the details, we have to do better on the offensive line.”
O’Brien attributed the breakdowns to a shared problem. Although Watson occasionally holds the football too long, it allows him to make plays and give his receivers a chance to create separation.
“But there’s also route running involved,” O’Brien said. “There’s so many things that go into a sack. Are the backs protecting the right guy? Is Deshaun holding the ball a little bit? Could the ball come out quicker? Is the receiver running the route the same way? Is the play call a great play call in that situation?
“There are so many different things that go into the end result of a sack. We’ve got to figure that out, though. We have to really try to get that cut down.”
The Texans on Sunday will face a formidable front seven, which entails demanding blocking assignments against Fletcher Cox, Michael Bennett and Brandon Graham.
“It’s not going to be easy,” O'Brien said. “It only gets harder. That’s what we’re spending time on trying to get figured out.”
Addition of Carter paying dividends
When the Texans claimed kick returner DeAndre Carter off waivers from Philadelphia, they hoped he would make an impact on special teams. Carter has been solid in that area, providing good field position.
As a wide receiver, Carter has emerged as a valuable addition with starter Keke Coutee out for the last three games with a hamstring injury.
Carter has caught 10 passes for 101 yards, including a 50-yard reception againstthe Jets. Carter also has averaged 25.3 yards per kickoff return and 8.3 yards per punt return.
“He was a good pickup for us,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s really smart, so he’s been able to pick up a lot of things for us offensively. He’s gotten us some decent yardage in the punt return game. Very tough guy, good pro.”
Eagles TE Ertz will be a challenge
The skill and size of Eagles tight end Zach Ertz poses a major challenge for the Texans’ defense.
Ertz has caught a career-high 98 passes for 1,016 yards and six touchdowns heading into Sunday’s game.
The Eagles line up their Pro Bowl selection in a variety of ways to take full advantage of his mobility and pass-catching ability.
“He’s used as an inside receiver; he’s used as basically at the tight end position as a normal tight end; he’s used in the backfield,” Texans coach Bill
O’Brien said. “It’s going to be important to know where he is on every play. Relative to how we’ve played other tight ends, I’m not sure that really matters because of the way they use Ertz. It’s all different, but he’s a great player.”