Houston benches Osweiler
Jacksonville fires coach Bradley after 14-48 record in four seasons TEXANS 21, JAGUARS 20
houston» Last season, Brock Osweiler grabbed the starting quarterback job for seven games for the Broncos. Last offseason, he grabbed a $72 million contract to jump to the Houston Texans.
Sunday, Osweiler grabbed a seat on the bench.
Tom Savage threw for 260 yards after Brock Osweiler was benched in the second quarter, and Lamar Miller scored Houston’s only touchdown with less than three minutes remaining as the Texans rallied for a 2120 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars fired coach Gus Bradley after the loss, Jacksonville’s ninth straight. He went 14-48 since taking over in 2013.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been down this road before,” Osweiler said. “I understand what it’s like to get benched in the middle of a football game. And ultimately having a bigpicture view on the deal, it’s all about the next man up and being a good teammate.”
The win was Houston’s 10th straight in the division and left the Texans (8-6) tied with Tennessee for the AFC South lead. But Houston controls its playoff future with a 5-0 mark in the division.
Osweiler threw interceptions on consecutive drives in the second quarter to help Jacksonville build a 13-0 lead. Coach Bill O’Brien had insisted all season he hadn’t thought about benching Osweiler, but he’d seen enough after that and brought in Savage. The move was met with a huge ovation from the home crowd that had been booing Osweiler for most of the day.
Houston trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter and Nick Novak made his fourth field goal before Miller bulled in for the go-ahead touchdown. The Jaguars were flagged for pass interference twice on that drive to set up the score.
The Jaguars (2-12) got the ball back twice, but they failed on a fourth-down conversion the first time and Blake Bortles was intercepted the second time.
Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston after signing a $72 million contract to join the Texans from Denver. He has 16 interceptions and 14 touchdown passes. Osweiler was 6-for-11 for 48 yards before he was pulled.
It was the first regular-season appearance since Dec. 14, 2014 for Savage.