MCCLAIN: HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS KEY TO WIN.
Texans pull off the most impressive comeback in team history
At halftime of Saturday’s
AFC wild card game at
NRG Stadium, the Texans underwent a Clark Kent/ Superman transformation, changing a low-scoring and boring game into an exhilarating 22-19 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Perhaps it was something Bill O’Brien said, or maybe it was something Wild Bill kicked in the locker room, but whatever he did at halftime helped the Texans rally from a 16-point deficit to an improbable conquest of the Bills when Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 28-yard field goal with 3:20 left in overtime.
“Hard to describe it,” O’Brien said about the second-half metamorphosis. “The Bills are a tough team, and they did a really good job in the first half.
“We came in at halftime and talked about a few things. Wanted to run it better. Felt like we could do some things in the passing game. We were trying to push the ball down the field more than we did in the first half.”
The Texans pushed the ball so hard and so effectively that O’Brien earned his second playoff victory and his first since the 2016 season. The Texans did it the hard way, stumbling and bumbling their way to a 13-0 halftime deficit that became a 16-point deficit in the third quarter.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who struggled in the first half with 49 yards passing and four sacks, was rejuvenated at halftime. Watson and the offense benefited from a clutch defensive performance that began badly with Buffalo scoring on a trick play on its first series before not surrendering another touchdown.
Before Watson produced one of his magical moments to ignite the winning drive in overtime, the Texans had to do what it took to set up the most impressive comeback in team history considering what was at stake.
After giving up a touchdown on receiver John Brown’s 16-yard pass to quarterback Josh Allen on Buffalo’s first series, the Texans allowed four field goals.
While the defense was keeping the Bills out of the end zone and forcing them to settle for Stephen Hauschka field goals, Watson was going to work on Buffalo’s defense.
“He’s the same guy whether you’re up 20 points or down by 16,” O’Brien said. “He (makes) play suggestions. He has plays he thinks can work. He’s able to talk to you between series. He never has an issue with anything. He has great poise. I can’t say enough about the way he operates throughout the game.”
In the first half, the Texans generated only 81 yards against one of the NFL’s premier defenses that finished second in points allowed and third in defense. Watson was sacked four times and was under a constant barrage from Buffalo’s pass rushers coming at him from every direction.
In the second half, Watson got rid of the ball faster. He also threw deep two times – the first time he threw down the field. The first one to Kenny Stills was incomplete, but the second one to DeAndre Hopkins down the left side was good for 41 yards.
Watson seemed more comfortable in the second half. So did his teammates on both sides of the ball. The pass rushers didn’t get near Allen in the first half. J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Jacob Martin sacked him in the second half. Watt’s sack — his first since the first half of the season — seemed to ignite the defense and offense.
The come-from-behind victory was achieved when Watson scored on a 20-yard run on which he powered his way into the end zone, carrying defenders for the last 5 yards. He also ran for a two-point conversion that cut the Buffalo lead to 16-8 in the third quarter.
On Buffalo’s first possession of the fourth quarter, Mercilus sacked Allen to force a fumble that Martin recovered at the 50. Watson helped convert the turnover into Fairbairn’s 41-yard field goal to pull the Texans within 16-11.
The defense continued to excel, shutting down the run and harassing Allen, forcing the Bills to go three and out.
When the Texans got the ball back, Watson led them on an eight-play, 74-yard drive that ended with his 5-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Hyde and his twopoint conversion pass to DeAndre Hopkins to make it 19-16 with 4:37 left in the game.
After the Bills forced overtime with Hauschka’s 47-yard field goal, the defense continued to play well, and on the Texans’ second possession of overtime, Watson made a play that’ll be replayed by television networks a hundred times this week.
On second-and-6 at the Buffalo 44, Watson was blitzed. Cornerback Siran Neal and outside linebacker Matt Milano arrived at the quarterback at the same time for what should have been the Bills’ eighth sack. Neal hit Watson first, and Milano smacked him, too, but he used a spin move to get away and found running back Taiwan Jones for a completion that ended 34 yards later at the Buffalo 10.
“I don’t know how he got free, but he did,” Jones said. “It just shows what kind of athlete he is. He was able to throw the ball to me right on point, and the rest is history.”
O’Brien called a timeout, then sent out his field goal team, and Fairbairn ended the Texans’ incredible performance, one that sends them on the road for the divisional round.
“Just the will and guts to be able to do what you’ve got to do,” Watson said. “The game is never over. I’m going to keep fighting.”
And Watson fought his way into Houston history. From a historical standpoint, Houston finally beat Buffalo in a playoff game, and the Bills have to wait another year before they get a chance to win their first playoff game since 1995.