Texans coach says lots of improvement still necessary
The longest winning streak in the NFL currently belongs to the Houston Texans who have reeled off nine straight wins after starting 0-3. Now with a three-game lead in the division, the Texans could clinch the AFC South and a playoff berth if they can beat the Indianapolis Colts along with the Tennessee Titans producing a loss or a tie in their matchup.
Head coach Bill O’Brien continues to preach to his team to stay focused and take one game at a time. Ingrained in the Texans’ minds, O’Brien continues to hammer home that every week is different and this week’s goal is to concentrate and be prepared for the Colts.
O’Brien remains consistent with his message with his team and it has been working.
“It’s very important,” O’Brien said of keeping his team focused on the opponent of the week. “In all seriousness, every week’s a different matchup. The Cleveland Browns were a totally different team relative to how they match up against us than the Indianapolis Colts. Every week is very different.”
Defensive End J.J. Watt continues to carry O’Brien’s message of one game at a time and his example helps keep everyone around him focused. Watt being one of the veteran leaders in the locker room is important in relaying his head coach’s message especially with how well he has been playing in recent weeks.
“I just want to win on Sunday,” Watt explained. “I just want to go out there and win on Sunday. I think it’s the one-day-at-a-time mentality.”
Watt continued, “I think that’s the biggest mentality I’ve taken away from it all is just control what you can control. If you try to start controlling things that you can’t control, then you can get in trouble.”
Even during the win streak, O’Brien knows the Texans have things to clean up in all three phases of the team. If it is red-zone work for the offense, cutting out big pass plays for the defense or getting the special teams unit to protect the ball better, the work is never done in O’Brien’s eyes.
The nine-game win streak has been a positive development for the Texans and there has been improvement from the offensive line, pass rush and the passing of Deshaun Watson. O’Brien knows that the Texans are improving but it is not enough for him as a head coach.
“Yeah, I mean I don’t think we’re getting worse,” O’Brien said of the Texans during the win streak. “We were 0-3 and we’re 9-3, so I think we’re improved, but are we where we need to be? No. We can always improve. There are so many different areas that we can improve in. That’s what we’re going to try to do this week.”
SERIES HISTORY: 34th regular-season meeting since 2002. Colts lead series, 25-8. The first meeting between the two was an overtime win for the Texans over the Colts 37-34 in Week 4. The Texans won on a gutsy call from the Colts on fourth down that failed and resulted in a quick two-play sequence that set up a game-winning field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn. That Week 4 game saw quarterback QB Deshaun Watson complete 69 percent of his passes for 375 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
