Defense, Improving Brock Osweiler Make Texans a Dangerous Playoff Opponent

The Houston Texans entered Bizarro World at the onset of the NFL's postseason. 

J.J. Watt isn't needed to field a dominant defense, and quarterback Brock Osweiler is no longer holding back the Texans offense. 

When Houston hosted the Oakland Raiders on Saturday at NRG Stadium to open the playoffs, a war of attrition was supposed to occur. Instead, the Texans captured an impressive 27-14 victory thanks to a complete team effort. 

In many ways, this Houston squad will invoke comparisons to last year's Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos.

Like the team that last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, the Texans are built around the league's No. 1 defense and an offense viewed as below-average due to subpar quarterback play. Plus, Osweiler's addition to this year's Houston squad comes on the heels of his playing for the Broncos a season ago. 

This formula makes Bill O'Brien's team dangerous. 

Even in an offense-driven league, the Broncos proved an aggressive defense with just enough help from its offense can still win a championship. 

For the Texans, they don't feature two future Hall of Fame pass-rushers in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware, but their duo isn't far behind. 

After dealing with injuries the last two seasons, former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney shirked the bust label. Earlier in the week, the South Carolina product was named to his first Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors. 

His outstanding play continued into the postseason, where he experienced his Watt moment. Clowney set the tone for the game with an acrobatic first-quarter interception that led to the Texans' initial touchdown, as the NFL showed: 

The uber-talented edge defender couldn't wait for Saturday's contest, knowing he'd get a chance to rush an untested rookie quarterback in the Raiders' Connor Cook. 

"That's great, I hope we blitz him all game," he said Wednesday, per NFL Network's James Palmer. 

One can imagine Clowney's preparing like the Predator: lying in wait, ready to pounce on his prey. Once the lights went on, he played like an unstoppable alien warrior too.

His traditional stat line won't impress anyone. Clowney finished with one tackle and two pass deflections (including his interception). This proved to be another case where the box score doesn't come close to telling the entire story.

According to Pro Football Focus, Clowney graded as the game's best player and contributed four quarterback hurries. In short, he made Cook's life a living hell. 

"He's really stepped up and made a bunch of big plays for us," O'Brien said, per the Texans' Twitter feed. "It has to continue."

Bob Levey/Getty Images

As good as Clowney can be, his bookend, Whitney Mercilus, is even more productive. 

The former first-round pick registered 19.5 sacks over the last two regular seasons, and he came to play Saturday. 

Mercilus amassed seven tackles, three tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and two quarterback hits. He also registered four more defensive stops, per Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke. 

With this pair terrorizing opposing quarterbacks, Watt's absence hasn't been debilitating. The Texans can still create pressure on a consistent basis without the game's best defensive player. 

"We make it difficult on a lot of quarterbacks," O'Brien said, per the team's Twitter account. 

An area where the Texans aren't quite as strong as the Broncos is the secondary. Still, Houston's defensive backs aren't pushovers. 

In fact, A.J. Bouye developed into one of the league's best cornerbacks in his fourth season. Any threat from the Raiders' wide receivers depended on the ability of a first-time starter at quarterback, yet Bouye's coverage still impressed, per Jahnke: 

Opposite Bouye, veteran Johnathan Joseph still displays good ball skills at 32 years old.

As a group, the Texans allowed only 203 yards and made Cook look like the inexperienced quarterback he is, per CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank: 

Houston's defense can be smothering. However, a team can't win without scoring points. Thus, the Texans offense needed to hold up its end of the bargain. It did so Saturday while answering pertinent questions regarding the game's most important position. 

For the much-maligned Osweiler, the towering signal-caller saved his best for the playoffs. 

The Texans' 27 points tied a season high, while the 6'8" quarterback provided his second-best QBR of the season, according to ESPN Stats & Info: 

Osweiler completed 56 percent of his passes for 168 yards and a passing touchdown. Those numbers might not jump off the page, but his performance proved effective. 

Coming into Saturday's contest, many considered the quarterback a failure after he signed a four-year, $72 million contract. He finished at or near the bottom of the NFL in completion percentage (59.0), yards per attempt (5.8) and interceptions (16). Eventually, O'Brien benched the organization's prized offseason addition. 

But former backup Tom Savage suffered a concussion during the regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans, forcing Osweiler into the lineup. 

The head coach and offensive coordinator George Godsey helped their quarterback establish a rhythm and build confidence against the Raiders with a passing game that catered to his strengths. 

Oakland struggled to cover tight ends throughout the year. In fact, 24 percent of the passing yards the Raiders surrendered during the regular season came from the position, per Catapult Sports' John Pollard. 

As such, eight of Osweiler's first 12 targets went to the team's tight ends. These were simple routes run between the numbers. C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin combined to make five catches for 64 yards. 

As the game wore on, the play-callers became more ambitious with deeper out-breaking routes. They weren't always effective, but Osweiler established himself in the first half, per Yahoo's Frank Schwab: 

The quarterback's growing comfort level became obvious just before the half when he connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a two-yard touchdown, as the Texans' official site showed: 

What made Peyton Manning successful last year despite a deteriorating skill set was he remained decisive. His ability to place the offense in the right position overrode his many flaws. 

The above completion isn't any different. Osweiler still has his issues—and those can't be overlooked—but if he continues to make the right decisions, the team will benefit. 

It's not just about scoring the touchdown or the throw itself, which were both impressive. Instead, the play was a run-pass option where Osweiler had the choice to hand off the ball or throw the pass to the back-side wide receiver, depending on coverage. 

Just by looking at the replay, it's easy to see there wasn't any hesitation. The 26-year-old knew what coverage he faced, pulled the handoff, hit his back foot and ripped the throw. 

This type of decisiveness has been lacking in Osweiler's game.

"I think it just goes back to having confidence in my teammates," the quarterback said, per the Texans' Twitter feed. "Believing in what you see and just rip it."

Even in the second half when Houston's game plan became conservative, Osweiler made the necessary plays. His accuracy wasn't as crisp, but the quarterback added another touchdown when he sauntered a yard for another score. 

Due to the effective outing, O'Brien named Osweiler his starting quarterback for the second round of the playoffs, per the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson:  

These are steps in the right direction for the entire organization. 

More importantly, Osweiler and Clowney validated the investments the team made in both, even if it was just one game.

The template has already been created. Houston doesn't have to veer out of its comfort zone to achieve success. A difficult path lies ahead with possible matchups against teams that will have decided advantages, particularly at the quarterback position. 

A squad with a top defense paired with an offense that can manage a game doesn't have a lot of leeway, but it can still win, even at the highest level. The Texans are this year's version of such a team. 

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