With six losses in their past sevens games, this season has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster for the Houston Texans.
It doesn’t help that star defenders Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt are out for the year.
It’s also not a coincidence that Houston’s struggles over the past month coincided with star rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson suffering a torn ACL following the team’s Week 8 game.
After head coach Bill O’Brien noted Monday morning that he would love to be back with the Texans next season, Watson took to Twitter to throw his full support behind the much-maligned figure.
& I want OB with me! 💯 https://t.co/nQvzmfYFmx
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) December 11, 2017
There has certainly been some question as to whether O’Brien is suited to be an NFL head coach. Since joining the Texans after a brief stint at Penn State, the former Patriots assistant has posted a 31-30 record with two playoff appearances in four seasons (Houston isn’t making the playoffs this year).
Though, it’s really hard to criticize O’Brien for the team’s struggles this season. Losing a rookie quarterback that was in the midst of a potentially history-breaking season hurts. Being without your two best defenders, including a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, also isn’t ideal.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. But Houston is coming off a 10-point home loss to a previously two-win 49ers team. That can’t have people in the building feeling good about the direction of the team.