Not Surprisingly, Savage to Start Next Week

After lifting the Texans to a comeback win over the Jaguars yesterday, coach Bill O’Brien has announced that Tom Savage will remain the starter for Saturday’s game against the Bengals.

It was like something out of a sports movie on Sunday when the underdog player comes in and suddenly he lifts the team and everything is better. That’s what happened to Tom Savage yesterday after Brock Osweiler was booed off the field following his second interception in as many drives against the Jaguars.

From there, the Texans outscored the Jaguars 21-7 and erased a 13-0 deficit to win 21-20. The passing game was sparked almost instantly as Savage threw for 260 yards on the day. DeAndre Hopkins also got involved with eight catches (second highest number of receptions this season) and 87 yards (only trailing his 113 yards against the Chiefs).

The announcers asked if Savage remain the starter next week or should Osweiler regain his job? Well O’Brien answered that quickly.

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There are a reasons not to keep Savage in the lineup. Think back to last season–Brian Hoyer struggled in the opener against the Chiefs, then Ryan Mallett came in and did well and earned a couple starts and then sucked then Hoyer came back in and it was chaos. What happens if Savage throws four interceptions on Saturday against the Bengals–does he stay in for the showdown in Tennessee that could end up determining who wins the AFC South or do you go back to Osweiler?

But the argument that made up O’Brien’s mind was simply what happened on the field. Nobody can deny the lift that Savage gave the team. The team could have been so fed up with Osweiler’s futile play that getting Savage in galvanized the team and pushed them forward to the win. While I do think that’s at least partially true, let’s keep in mind it was the Jaguars this happened against–they find ways to lose games as well as anyone in the league.

The defense did its part to help in the comeback, allowing just three points to the Jaguars offense (not counting the ten that came off of turnovers). They also kept the Jags under raps in the second half. Jacksonville punted deep in their territory to set up Houston’s game winning drive.