Brock Osweiler wasn’t the only new starter for the Texans on offense last night.
And for the most part, they played as if they had just met, with two unproductive series for their new $72 million quarterback.
“Was it completely what I wanted? Absolutely not,” Osweiler said, via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “It’s difficult to see exactly what happened until you watch the film.
“We did some really good things offensively. We have some things to learn from. I’m very confident we’ll be better next week.”
They better, or the concerns about paying big money to a guy with a short resume (who his coaches never met before signing) will begin.
Osweiler completed 4-of-7 passes for 27 yards, with the long one a 12-yarder to tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz. While sometimes stats lie, his passer rating of 65.8 was an accurate representation of the night.
He was only sacked once, but was pressured often behind a line that included just one starter from last season (left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo). When the three missing blockers (left tackle Duane Brown, right tackle Derek Newton and center Nick Martin) return, it should help.
But Osweiler’s going to need to show more soon, or people will wonder if the Texans are again a team competing for a division title in spite of, and not because of their quarterback.