If you had said back in August that Brock Osweiler would play an efficient, mistake-free game in a playoff win over a 12-4 Oakland Raiders team, we’d have thought the Houston Texans’ $72 million free-agent deal wasn’t so bad.
Of course, the route Osweiler took to his promising performance on Saturday was far from smooth. He struggled this regular season, was ridiculed and got benched late in the season. People started wondering if he had replaced Albert Haynesworth as the most famous free-agent flop in NFL history.
Give Osweiler a respite, at least for a week. He played well on Saturday, at least in the first half, as the Texans cruised to a 27-14 win over the Raiders. It doesn’t mean Osweiler’s oft-discussed contract was worth it, and it doesn’t mean Osweiler is going to replicate Saturday’s performance in the next round at the New England Patriots or Kansas City Chiefs. But for one game, Osweiler was good enough for the Texans to advance.
Osweiler played well in the first half, especially on a long touchdown drive in the second quarter that ended with a touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins. He was 12-of-18 for 146 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions before halftime. The Texans, understanding that the Raiders couldn’t move the ball with rookie quarterback Connor Cook, got very conservative on offense in the second half. Osweiler did practically nothing after halftime, but the Texans were content to bleed the clock by running the ball and punting. Osweiler finished the game 14-of-25 for 168 yards.
Osweiler did put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run, when he put a juke on linebacker Cory James in the open field and got to the corner of the end zone. That gave Houston a 27-7 lead, and although the Raiders rallied a bit after that, they never really had a chance.
Osweiler didn’t need to play very well to be the best quarterback in this game. Cook predictably struggled. He was the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to make his first career start in a playoff game and it showed. He was 18-of-45 for 161 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, and many of his yards came in the fourth quarter after Houston took a 20-point lead. Raiders coach Jack Del Rio stuck with him, even though veteran backup Matt McGloin was healthy enough to practice this week and was the backup for the game.
Cook couldn’t get anything going until after Oakland fell hopelessly behind, and the Raiders’ first playoff appearance since the end of the 2002 season ended with a disappointing whimper. Oakland fans will wonder how things might have been different had Derek Carr not broken his leg in Week 16.
The Texans have had their issues this season, and most have centered on the criticism of Osweiler and his enormous contract. One good game, even in the playoffs, doesn’t revise all that history. But at least Osweiler won’t have to hear all offseason about how he lost to a rookie making his first start in the playoffs.
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