The Houston Texans received a lambasting at the hands of the undefeated Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, losing 31-13.
On Sunday, Houston compiled a meager 214 yards of total offense, the second fewest in a game in the Bill O'Brien era.
After the game, everyone wanted to take blame for the poor outing.
"It starts with me," quarterback Brock Osweiler said, via the team's official website. "I need to do my job better. I need to play better. Especially on the road."
Osweiler once again was shaky in the pocket, completing just 19-of-42 passes for a paltry 184 yards, an interception and a late score. The high-priced free agent certainly deserves a hefty share of the blame for an unproductive loss.
Veteran offensive lineman Duane Brown said the blocking was responsible for the offensive struggles.
"Nah, it's not his fault," Brown said of Osweiler. "No one person can take the blame for this. We have to continue to do a better job protecting him, giving him time back there. We have to do a better job of running the ball when it's time to run the ball."
Wait! The defense wants to get in on the blame sharing.
"We played bad. Nobody played good," Jadeveon Clowney said. Clowney was flagged for an offsides penalty and a facemask penalty during the Vikings' first two touchdown drives.
"We started off with penalties," Clowney said. "I got a personal foul. That hurt us. They scored on the first possession. That hurt us. Everything was hurting us. They got up on us and we couldn't come back. We've got to pick it up and play complementary football altogether. Offense and defense, we got to pick it up. Everybody has to play better. We've got to pick it up all-around."
O'Brien defended his quarterback and shouldered the guilt for Sunday's disaster.
"It starts and ends with me," O'Brien said after the game. "I have to do a much better job with this football team."
Added O'Brien: "I think we had a good practice week but didn't show up on Sunday. You know that's a reflection of the game plan, especially offensively and it wasn't good enough. That's a reflection of me. I'm serious and I don't know another way to tell you. I'm not trying to cover for anybody. I'm telling you how I see it right after the game and that's how I see it."
On the bright side, everyone in the organization trying to take the onus for the loss is better than finger-pointing.
After getting shellacked by the two quality opponents they've faced, the Texans are now viewed as a pretender among AFC playoff challengers. It's up to the entire team to change that narrative in the next 11 contests.
