Woes continue
Texans quarterbacks had a rough day at the office against Steelers.
Texans quarterback T.J. Yates got slammed to the ground Monday afternoon as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton blitzed off the edge for one of his three sacks.
The latest breakdown in pass protection during a 34-6 loss left Yates shaken up and triggered the Texans’ latest experience with the NFL concussion protocol and injuries at the quarterback position.
As Yates went under the blue medical tent on the sideline to be evaluated by doctors, trainers and an independent neurologist as mandated by the league before later being cleared and allowed to return, backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke entered the game and became the fourth quarterback to play this season for the Texans because of a myriad of injuries under center.
Inexplicably, Heinicke later was forced from the game with a concussion of his own, and Yates went back in for the second half and finished the game.
‘A sensitive subject’
Yates said it was referee Bill Vinovich who pulled him out of the game. The Texans, independent spotters and neurologists are the subject of a joint NFL-NFL Players Association investigation into how the concussion protocol was handled when quarterback Tom Savage was initially allowed to go back into a Dec. 10 game against the San Francisco 49ers. Savage absorbed a crushing hit from 49ers outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil that left him lying down with his hands and arms twitching. He was later ruled out and placed on season-ending injured reserve Saturday.
“I appreciate (Vinovich’s) cautiousness,” said Yates, who was sacked six times and had a 54.9 passer rating. “It’s a very sensitive subject right now. That fact that it took so long, the whole process took about 30 minutes for me to get back out there, that was a little frustrating for me. I’d rather them be more cautious than not.
“At the same time, taking players off the field when they’re fine is frustrating to players. It’s kind of a doubleedged sword. Eventually, the process of the whole concussion protocol will get better and better. It’s just a very hot topic right now. He felt that I got hit in the head, and that I needed to come out.”
Heinicke completed his only pass for 10 yards to wide receiver Will Fuller before being sacked by Hilton and knocked out of the game.
The instability and amount of injuries at quarterback, including star rookie Deshaun Watson being out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, is staggering.
“That’s what happens, it’s what you do,” O’Brien said. “You just go to the next guy. It’s ‘hey, here’s the plays we’re going to run with you,’ and then that guy is cleared.”
It was a rough game for Yates. He was under a lot of duress but wasn’t accurate. He completed just seven of 16 passes for 83 yards, one touchdown and one interception while losing a fumble. The Steelers had seven total sacks.
“I wasn’t very sharp to start the game off, and that kind of stalled us,” Yates said. “The running game was going great. I was off to begin with. Playing against a team like that, you can’t get behind, and it didn’t get much better after that. We ended up getting a score later in the game, but I’ve just got to be a lot better.”
Those shortcomings included Yates throwing a pick in the end zone to the Steelers’ Artie Burns when the Texans squandered a first-and-goal situation on a throw intended for Fuller. He also misfired on a throw to an open Braxton Miller.
“Obviously, it was a poor throw on the interception to Will and the one to Braxton,” Yates said. “I just kind of put too much on it. Had him open. I’ve just got to hit him. Definitely a missed opportunity because that could have changed up the landscape of the game.”
Offensive line stumbles
The offensive line struggled mightily against an aggressive Steelers pass rush. It keeps allowing quarterbacks to get hit. The Texans have allowed a combined 52 sacks this season.
“It’s unfortunate,” guard Xavier Su’a-Filo said. “It’s a pride thing for us as an offensive line; we take pride in running the ball and protecting the quarterback. We never want to see our guys get hurt.”
Making his second career start, rookie left tackle Julie’n Davenport had his moments. He also guessed wrong when he thought Hilton was pretending to blitz but was actually running into the backfield.
“We’ve got to do a good job of correcting that,” Davenport said. “One of them was on me. I called it out, and the guy bluffed. I thought they were bluffing. I got screwed on that one. We’ve got to do a better job of making sure everybody is good and protecting our quarterbacks.”
aaron.wilson@chron.com twitter.com/aaronwilson_nfl