Texans go back to work after mixed first half
Second half has team away for 5 games, where wins are scarce
When the Texans return to practice today after their week off, they begin preparing for the second half of the season after an up-and-down eight games that still have left them in first place in the AFC South.
The Texans have control of the AFC South, and if they fail to win the division for a second consecutive season, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
The Texans (53) have the keys to the division penthouse, and they have no interest in giving them up to Tennessee, Indianapolis or Jacksonville. When they return to work Monday after five days off, the Texans start preparing for Sunday’s game at Jacksonville. They plan to defeat the Jaguars to elevate their division record to 3-0 that includes a victory over each opponent.
The Texans finished the first half of the season with a 20-13 victory over Detroit. Beating the Lions sent the Texans into their week off in a good frame of mind. Now they must develop that nasty disposition required to win.
“I’m happy about where we are, but, obviously, we have a lot of work left,” inside linebacker Brian Cushing said. “We have to continue to build off the momentum.”
Make no mistake — no one is giddy over being 5-3, especially when they know they have been embarrassed three times on the road. That has to change because five of their last eight games are away from NRG Stadium.
Consistency sought
The Texans are 5-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. If they beat the Jaguars, they will achieve two things — winning their first road game and earning back-to-back victories for the first time since the first two games of the season.
“There has to be more consistency in all three phases,” coach Bill O’Brien said.
O’Brien, the assistant coaches and players hope to replicate what they accomplished in each of the past two seasons.
The Texans have won 11 of 15 games after their open date in O’Brien’s first two seasons.
The Jacksonville game begins the most rugged stretch of the season — four of five games on the road. That includes a trip to Mexico City to play Oakland on Nov. 21.
Improvement, on the road or at home, must start with quarterback Brock Osweiler. At home, he has completed 64.2 percent of his attempts and thrown eight touchdown passes. On the road, he has completed 52.4 percent and thrown one TD pass.
But most importantly, Osweiler can’t duplicate his nine interceptions if the Texans expect to excel over the second half.
Sunday would be the ideal time for him to have his best performance on the road. And it’s not like he’s going against New England, Minnesota and Denver, all of whom obliterated the Texans on the road.
“I think he’s getting better and better,” O’Brien said of his quarterback. “I have great respect for the guy. I think when you come into a new system that puts a lot on your plate at that position, I don’t think it’s easy. You’ve got a lot of guys playing that haven’t played together, so the only way you get better is with game experience.”
QB knows his role
Nobody has to tell Osweiler he must improve, at home and on the road. He accepted blame after defeats and credited his teammates after victories.
Osweiler knows what the Texans can accomplish over the second half, and he knows his role.
“The thing that’s encouraging is I feel like I’m getting better every week, and I feel like this team is getting better every week,” he said. “There’s plenty of room for improvement, and, fortunately, we still have eight more games.”