3 Challenges the Houston Texans must overcome vs. Colts in Week 14

1. Solve time mismanagement issue

Although Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has done an excellent job this season, he has made several mistakes with time mismanagement. For example, in last week’s win against the Browns, O’Brien made an error at the end of the first half.

O’Brien did not call a timeout in time, leading the Texans to settle for merely a field goal, rather than going for a touchdown. In addition, against the Denver Broncos, the Texans’ offense rushed in the last minutes of the game, allowing the Broncos to march down the field only to miss the game-winning field goal.

These simple time mismanagement mistakes need to be fixed by O’Brien in order for the Texans to be successful. In games that are highly competitive and very close, it is integral that O’Brien calls timeouts at the right time and is able to stop the clock whenever it is needed. Otherwise, in tight games, like the one expected this Sunday, opposing teams can take advantage and potentially win the game through simple time management errors.

O’Brien should also communicate with quarterback Deshaun Watson when in hurry plays in order to ensure that the offense is doing all of the right things. For example, against the Titans, Watson lost the game for the Texans by spending too much time in the last seconds of the game looking for a receiver. Even after finding the receiver, Watson threw to a player in the open field, allowing time to run.

This made the Texans lose as if Watson completed a pass to a player near the sidelines, it would have stopped the clock, allowing the field goal unit to score a game-winning field goal.  These instances of miscommunication must be fixed.

In tough games against teams such as the Colts, time management and communication is crucial as it would make sure that both the coach and the players are on the same page and could avoid simple mistakes such as time management. This is very crucial as if the Texans mess up time management and fail to communicate with the players, it could cost the Texans the game, especially against good teams like the Colts.

If the Texans are able to overcome the challenges above, the Texans can surely win this crucial division game against the Colts. A win on Sunday would clinch a playoff spot for the Texans so overcome these challenges are even more important.