Texans Must Move Beyond Brock Osweiler and His Contract to Finally Compete

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien made a savage yet necessary decision Sunday when he corrected the organization's $72 million mistake and benched quarterback Brock Osweiler.

Backup Tom Savage entered the contest and immediately looked like the best quarterback on the field. 

"That was a gutsy call," owner Bob McNair said after the game, per the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson. "I'm glad I didn't have to make [that] decision. It was for the good of the team" 

The third-year quarterback, who played in his first regular-season contest since his rookie campaign, completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 260 yards and led his team to a 21-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. 

Houston improved to 8-6 overall after Sunday's outcome and sits atop the AFC South due to a tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans. 

"I've always felt good about Tom," O'Brien said, per the Houston Chronicle's Brian T. Smith.

Even so, O'Brien wouldn't commit to either quarterback after the contest. He doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, though. Savage deserves to be the Texans' starting quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

The difference in play between Houston's two signal-callers was staggering. 

Prior to being benched, Osweiler completed six of 11 passes for 48 yards and a pair of interceptions. Sunday's performance became an extension of an entire season's worth of below-average play. 

Before Sunday's contest, the 6'8" signal-caller ranked 26th overall in passing yards (2,656), 28th in completion percentage (59.7 percent) and last among qualified quarterbacks in yards per attempt (5.79). According to Pro Football Focus, the Texans quarterback owns the worst grade among his position group. 

Paralysis through analysis is the best way to describe Osweiler's play. He's too afraid to challenge defenses and relies heavily on checkdowns. That is why his yards-per-attempt average doesn't eclipse six yards.

When the Arizona State product does take chances, he often makes the wrong reads and gets pressured into miscues or turnovers. 

But the Texans never took the time to fully understand the person before committing to him as their "franchise" quarterback. 

The MMQB's Peter King detailed how ludicrous the idea of signing Osweiler became based on current league rules that don't allow direct contact with a player before the start of free agency: 

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The owner, Bob McNair, agreed to guarantee $37 million to Osweiler without ever meeting him. The head coach, O'Brien, never got to speak to Osweiler during the free-agency period, to look him in the eye and find out if he was the man O'Brien wanted to build his offense around. The hands-on offensive coordinator, George Godsey, never got to drill Osweiler on his strengths, weaknesses and how he might fit into the Houston scheme.

"

Osweiler benefited by being a free agent at the right age and right time. In a league where a handful of teams are constantly searching for the next great quarterback, those franchises are willing to take risks they wouldn't with any other position. 

When a 25-year-old option becomes available after his previous team won the Super Bowl and after he showed promise during that stretch, some team was going to invest heavily in that young man. The Texans did, even without full knowledge of the person or his progression as a passer. 

Unlike most organizations, Houston didn't allow the league's economics to override what's best for the team.

Savage—a former fourth-round pick—doesn't demand playing time. Financially, it made no sense to play the team's backup. O'Brien and the Texans have far more invested—both literally and figuratively—in Osweiler, as SportsCenter pointed out: 

Yet Savage looked like a completely different quarterback compared to the incumbent starter. In many ways, the Pitt product appeared to be a legitimate NFL-quality signal-caller. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein identified the primary difference between the two: 

Savage found a rhythm within the offense, let passes fly when he hit the top of his drop and made multiple decisive throws. 

"He knows this offense," wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said, per Wilson. "It showed today. He did a great job." 

Osweiler owns prototypical size, but he doesn't display anything more than an average arm. He's also far more mobile in the pocket than Savage. But the team's second option can make throws the previous starter wouldn't or couldn't, as Zierlein noted: 

During the fourth quarter, Savage completed multiple passes outside the numbers when the team still trailed by six points. He orchestrated an eight-play drive that resulted in Lamar Miller's game-winning touchdown plunge. 

"Tom played a phenomenal game," Osweiler admitted, per Wilson. 

Eventually, every NFL organization takes a chance on a quarterback. After all, it's the game's most important position and the hardest to evaluate—whether an individual is acquired through the draft, free agency or a trade. 

But teams don't need to force those moves. Houston did when it signed a mostly unproven Osweiler to a four-year deal and paid him a contract worthy of an above-average starter. He hasn't reached said status nor showed any indication he ever will. He can be a quality backup, though. 

"Unfortunately, I've been down this road before," the quarterback joked, per Smith. 

O'Brien owes it to his team to play the best available option during the final two weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals and Titans. The Texans have 72 million reasons to start Osweiler, but he's the wrong choice.

Instead, a Savage era is ready to begin in Houston. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.