Is the Texans' Playoff-Ready Defense Enough to Carry Brock Osweiler?

Plenty of annual traditions pop up as mid-December approaches, and Home Alone is on your TV way too much. Having lots of opportunities to heap praise on a quarterback is a holiday-season staple for most possibly playoff-bound NFL teams.

But there's nothing traditional about the Houston Texans and their quarterback, Brock Osweiler. When the Texans lose—as they had in three straight games heading into Week 14—it's usually because their prized free-agent acquisition failed to move his offense or show fundamental passing skills.

And when the Texans win, they do it by minimizing Osweiler to overcome his deficiencies. That is why even after notching a critical late-season 22-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to seize control of the AFC South, it's difficult to take Houston seriously.

There's still a nagging hesitation after every win when the Texans defense creates a whirling cyclone in the opposition's backfield to make clean pass attempts scarce. You pause and wonder if this team has the required pieces to overcome Osweiler's bumbling while winning with a combination of its defensive hammer and a surging ground game.

Mustering the confidence to believe in this version of the Texans—the one playing without stud pass-rusher J.J. Watt—takes some creative squinting even as they celebrate a season sweep of the Colts. As ESPN's Michele Steele noted, that feat was a franchise first:

But although seeing the Watt-less Texans as a January threat is challenging if they need to lean heavily on their defense, there's still quite a bit to chew on.

Believing in the Texans starts with their pass rush, which is still the leading cause of soiled undergarments for the opposition. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was stuck in a blender throughout Sunday afternoon, and even his completions often required slithering athleticism to escape pressure.

Luck averaged only 6.1 passing yards per attempt (he finished with 276 yards overall). That was significantly lower than his per-game season average of 7.7 yards prior to Week 14. Luck had recently been sizzling while throwing for lots of chunk yardage over a three-game stretch. But that came to a screeching halt against the Texans.

Week	Yards/attempt
Week 9 (@GB)	7.8
Week 11 (vs. TEN)	9.4
Week 13 (@NYJ)	9.9
Week 14 (vs. HOU)	6.1

Luck did manage to orchestrate a second-half surge while connecting with wide receiver T.Y. Hilton for several long gains, most notably a 35-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

But he was generally under duress and battling a buzzing beehive of Texans pass-rushers. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney stung Luck several times and had the most impact. He finished with three tackles, one sack and two forced turnovers. While speaking to reporters, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien called Clowney "disruptive," which is the best word to describe his near-weekly dominance.

One of the turnovers Clowney created came on a game-changing strip-sack late in the third quarter when the Colts had advanced to Houston's 3-yard line. The other came when Clowney's long arms closed in on Luck just before he launched a pass downfield.

Few good things follow when a quarterback's release looks like this…

Credit: NFL.com

The resulting wounded-animal throw that ended up in the hands of safety Andre Hal was one of Luck's two interceptions on the day. That brings us to another defensive exclamation mark the Texans placed on Sunday's win: Before Week 14, Luck had just one multiple-interception game and only eight picks on the season.

The Texans made a top-tier quarterback look ordinary, holding Luck to only a 53.3 completion percentage. Combine that with a stifling run defense (51 rushing yards allowed to Colts running backs) and it's not hard to see how Houston's possession advantage ballooned to an absurd level. In the first half, the Texans had nine more minutes of possession time, and that grew to just over 12 minutes at the final whistle.

The Texans won through sheer defensive aggression by generating nine points off three turnovers. And they also won by supporting their strong defense with a rushing attack that pumped out 185 yards, with 107 of those yards coming from running back Lamar Miller (his fourth 100-plus yard game of 2016).

But it's what they didn't do that tosses a bucket of frigid water on deep-playoff dreams. Or mostly, what Osweiler didn't do in an area of the field that matters plenty.

Osweiler entered Week 14 with just a 54.8 red-zone completion percentage. That's led to the Texans' 29th ranking in touchdowns per red-zone appearance, according to Football Outsiders. Consequently, their 4.52 points per red-zone trip also ranks a lowly 28th.

So it came as no surprise, then, that as Luck staggered around for much of the game, an Osweiler-led offense could only summon a whimper deep in opposing territory. The Texans converted just one red-zone trip into a touchdown. Or if you prefer a more depressing/amusing angle depending on your fan affiliation: The Texans scored that single touchdown while being in position to take 15 red-zone snaps.

Osweiler's inability to be even mediocre during critical moments will derail the Texans. When that derailment comes is the next question, as a tight division battle with the Tennessee Titans lies ahead, and the Colts are still lurking.

The football stars have aligned perfectly for the Texans. Of their three remaining games, two are at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals, both of whom are anxious to pull the parachute on their season. Then the Week 17 season finale is against the Titans, a team Houston has already beaten once.

The Texans could easily go undefeated in their division and host a playoff game for the second straight year. And that usually lofty playoff perch will be an empty accomplishment unless Osweiler shows a shred of consistent competence in the weeks to come.