Hoyer first to realize something wrong
In the Texans’ 10-6 victory at Cincinnati on Monday, quarterback Brian Hoyer was hit hard and sacked on the third play of the second half.
The offense was struggling to move the ball, but the Texans trailed 6-3 because the defense, which hasn’t allowed a touchdown in 10 quarters, was pummeling the Bengals’ offense.
After he was sacked by nose tackle Domata Peko, Hoyer didn’t feel right but continued to play for one more series. From the sack until he was pulled for concussion-like symptoms, Hoyer was 5-of-7 for 38 yards.
Hoyer told backup T.J. Yates to get ready and informed coach Bill O’Brien he was having memory issues.
“I think it says a lot about him,” O’Brien said. “He wants to do what’s best for the team. That’s the type of guy he is.”
Offensive coordinator
George Godsey, who calls the plays, noticed Hoyer having problems.
“(Hoyer) got hit twice in the head on that play (including) once at the ground,” O’Brien said. “I give a lot of credit to
George (because) he kind of noticed it right away.
“(Hoyer) wasn’t functioning correctly as to how we know he would usually function calling a play, receiving the play in, trying to communicate it to the offense. So George pointed it out to me when the series was over.
“I went over to him, and he just said, ‘I’m having trouble remembering the plays right now.’ That’s when I called the (trainer Geoff Kaplan).”
Confidence in Yates
And that’s when the SOS went out to Yates, the Cincinnati Kid who threw the winning touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins and improved his record to 3-0 against the Bengals, including 2-0 at Paul Brown Stadium.
With a short week and the New York Jets coming to town, Hoyer is in the concussion protocol and must be cleared to play.
The Texans must be confident Hoyer will be able to play because O’Brien and general manager Rick Smith weren’t rushing to sign another veteran quarterback.
Make no mistake: Hoyer is the starting quarterback and Yates is the backup.
But if something happens to Hoyer, they won’t hesitate to call Yates out of the bullpen again.
Three weeks ago, Yates was on the golf course working on his handicap. Last week, Yates was at The Improv cracking oneliners at the Chris Myers Roast. On Monday night, he was leading the Texans to one of the best moments in team history before ESPN’s national television audience.
“That’s a tough situation for a guy to go into,” O’Brien said about Yates entering the game late in the third quarter. “He’s a very calm guy. Nothing really fazes him.
“The way that he approached that situation was really what you’re looking for.”
Playing against a Cincinnati defense that was terrific, Hoyer finished with 12-of-22 for 123 yards and an interception on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half.
Yates was 5-of-11 for 69 yards, including the gamewinning, 22-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins, who made an incredible one-handed catch in the end zone.
“One thing about T.J. is the locker room has a lot of respect for him,” O’Brien said. “A lot of these guys have played with him. As soon as he entered the huddle, they knew he would do his job.”
Hard work pays off
Now the Texans are 4-5 and tied with Indianapolis for first place in the AFC South Division. The Colts play at Atlanta on Sunday.
“Anytime you go into a game like that and you end up winning, that means a lot for your team,” O’Brien said. “Now, the key is we have to understand how we got to that point.
“(The players and coaches) were honest with each other. We worked very hard. We had fullpadded practices. The guys put a lot of time in the meeting room and the film room. We’ve got to continue to do it that way.”