FALCON POINTS
The 5 most embarrassing losses of the Bill O'Brien era
Dec 11, 2019, 6:55 am
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Bill O'Brien
Sunday's loss to the Broncos was a complete embarrassment. During the Bill O'Brien era, there have been no shortage of losses like this. Narrowing it down to five was not easy. Let's take a look back at the Hall of Shame:
No. 5: Ravens 41, Texans 7, Nov. 17, 2019
The Texans went into Baltimore on a nice roll, hoping to get a huge win and get themselves in position for a first-round bye. From the first possession, when Deshaun Watson had a terrible turnover, the Texans looked like a bad high school team. They had no answer on defense for Lamar Jackson, and the offense was unable to do anything. The Ravens are the best team in the AFC, so the shame level on this one is not as bad, but the effort (or lack thereof) in such a big game makes this one an easy addition to the list.
The next week: The Texans bounced back and beat the Colts in a Thursday night game 20-17.
No. 4: Falcons 48, Texans 21, Oct. 4, 2015
This game was an embarrassment from the beginning. As in many of these losses, they gave up a touchdown on offense early, were down 28-0 at the half and 42-0 at one point before adding some pointless garbage time points, another common theme in the losses. For O'Brien, it proved his team "didn't quit." In real life, it was a complete dismantling and the late scores were meaningless stat padders.
The next week: The dropped a 27-20 home game against the Colts.
No. 3: Dolphins 44, Texans 26, Oct. 25, 2015
Another where you can ignore the final score. The Texans were down 41-0 at one point and were dominated by Lamar Miller. The worst part? In his quest to make the score look better, O'Brien left Arian Foster in the game late, and he suffered a season ending injury. It was a dumb move to mask how unprepared the Texans were. In all of these games, the Texans were not ready, got in huge early holes, had poor game plans, and looked like they did not belong on the field. This was one of the worst.
The next week: They beat the Titans and reeled off four straight wins.
No. 2: Broncos 38, Texans 24, Dec. 8, 2019
The Texans were down 31-3 at halftime and never had any chance. They added 21 garbage time points to make the score look better, but make no mistake, this was a complete dismantling. As in all the other games, they were clueless on both sides of the ball and looked completely overmatched by a team that was 4-8 coming in and was starting a rookie QB. For a team that had high aspirations, the loss was a complete joke and was the kind of game that makes you question whether or not they can even make the playoffs. Leaving Deshaun Watson in to make the score look better was typical O'Brien and completely ridiculous.
The next week: They play at Tennessee in a game that could knock them out of the division lead.
No. 1: Chiefs 30, Texans 0, Jan. 9, 2016
Hopes were high as the Texans had a home playoff game. The hopes ended on the opening kickoff as the Chiefs returned the initial kickoff for a touchdown. Quarterback Brian Hoyer threw four picks, and who can forget the brilliant idea to have J.J. Watt run the wildcat? The thing that stands out about this game and the Baltimore loss? No empty points at the end to make it look better. In fact, no points at all.
The next week: There wasn't one. They were ousted from the playoffs.
The common thread
In every case, the Texans entered with a bad game plan, got in massive holes, and never had any chance, and O'Brien had no answers. Good teams play bad games all the time, but how often do they look completely unprepared and never have an opportunity? In every one of these games, you knew they were beaten by the second quarter. O'Brien has too many of these clueless efforts on his resume. Will they bounce back next week? History says yes, but after Sunday, do you have any faith in that?
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Hot start, big stage
Houston opens with a tough but marquee road test in Los Angeles against the Rams before returning to NRG for a Monday Night Football showdown against the Buccaneers.
Division duels define the path
As always, the AFC South is crucial. Houston faces five division games from Week 3 to Week 13, including a big Jaguars rematch in Week 10. If Trevor Lawrence takes the leap, and his top targets Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter live up to the hype, Jacksonville could be Houston’s biggest in-division threat. Still, with win totals sitting at 7.5 for both the Colts and Jaguars (and 5.5 for the Titans), the Texans have a clear path to control the South.
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Protecting C.J. Stroud remains a clear priority too, as the Texans added OT Aireontae Ursery in the draft and created a true open competition on the offensive line through free agency, featuring a deep group.
One of the most notable moves recently was Higgins’ fully guaranteed four-year, $11.7 million deal—a rarity for non-first-rounders. That level of commitment from Caserio signals strong conviction in both Higgins’ talent and character. It also hints that Houston may have considered him with their original 25th overall pick before trading back. With Patriots alumni like Caley and Popovich now on staff, and Caserio pulling the strings, it’s clear the Texans are building a system that blends New England and Rams discipline with Houston’s new-wave of offensive firepower.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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