HOUSTON (AP) - Coach Bill O’Brien said Monday he doesn’t know who will start at quarterback for the Houston Texans in their wild-card playoff game against the Oakland Raiders on Saturday.
Tom Savage started Houston’s last two games after Brock Osweiler was benched. But Savage’s status for this week is in question after he suffered a concussion in the second quarter of a loss to Tennessee on Sunday .
“We gave the players a day off (Monday) so I haven’t even seen the quarterbacks. So I’ll have more for you on that (Tuesday),” O’Brien said.
He was then asked whether the decision will be based mostly on health.
“No I think there are a lot of different factors,” he said. “Obviously health is part of it, no question about it … (but) we moved the ball well - Brock did a nice job when he was in there, so there’s a lot of different factors that go into it.”
Osweiler struggled with consistency and turnovers in his 14 starts this season after signing a $72 million contract in the offseason. However, he looked better after taking over on Sunday and finished with 253 yards passing and a touchdown.
Savage played well when he took over for Osweiler in the second quarter against Jacksonville on Dec. 18, throwing for 260 yards to help Houston rally for the win. But he failed to move the offense consistently last week against Cincinnati and couldn’t do much on Sunday before he was injured. He had just 25 yards passing.
While Houston waits to see whether Savage will be cleared to play, the Raiders are also dealing with questions at quarterback after Matt McGloin left with a shoulder injury in his first start since Derek Carr broke his leg last week. Rookie Connor Cook took over and could have to make his first NFL start on Saturday if McGloin can’t go.
The Texans’ offense has underperformed this season after the team made a huge investment to upgrade that side of the ball. Houston’s defense finished the regular season ranked first in yards allowed despite losing J.J. Watt early on, but the revamped offense was among the worst in the league, ranking 29th by averaging just 314.7 yards a game.
O’Brien discussed his disappointment in the offense not living up to expectations.
“Obviously no it hasn’t,” he said. “We haven’t coached good enough, haven’t performed good enough on offense. Look in the mirror on that. We’re going to work very hard to figure out what’s the best way to move the ball against Oakland. But look, what’s happened happened and this is a new week and a new season, and I know our guys will come in ready to go.”
Whoever starts at quarterback for Houston this week should get a boost with the return of running back Lamar Miller , who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. Miller has 1,073 yards rushing and five touchdowns in his first year with the Texans after spending his first four years with the Dolphins.
“He’s feeling better,” O’Brien said. “He’s been a very productive player for us this year, so we’re looking forward to getting him back.”
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