HOUSTON -- "Brock for President!"
This ranks high on the list of things I wasn't expecting to hear in Houston over the weekend, but a boisterous Texans teammate couldn't contain himself in the locker room after Saturday's 27-14 victory over the Raiders.
Brock Osweiler saved one of his cleanest games of the season for the playoffs, and coach Bill O'Brien announced after the game that Osweiler would remain the team's starter for the Divisional round. Tom Savage, who is recovering from a concussion, would presumably be Osweiler's backup if he's cleared to play.
O'Brien stressed Osweiler's ability to take care of the ball, execute the game plan and spread the ball around. While he had one particularly nice drive, Osweiler still only finished with 168 yards on 25 attempts. He rushed for a touchdown and threw for another. The real improvement for Osweiler was the lack of turnovers.
"He's always a team player," cornerback AJ Bouye told NFL.com after the game about Osweiler. "I feel like whatever happened this season, I felt like what he did what he had to do today to make people forget about it."
Win next week and people will forget about the regular season. Avoiding a home loss against a Raiders team led by No. 3 quarterback Connor Cook just avoided an incredibly ugly offseason for the Texans. Still, Osweiler deserves credit for not getting in his team's way. Plenty of teammates gave Osweiler love for his ability to rise to the moment.
"I saw the one play where he rushed for the first down," defensive lineman Antonio Smith said. "And I saw the look in his eyes that he wanted it. I knew right then. I knew he believed. Man ... it gives fuel to the offense and fuel to the defense."
O'Brien called Saturday's win the "best game" of the season for the team. It was certainly one of Osweiler's best games of the season too, a low bar that Osweiler will try to clear again next week on the road.