3 dumbest decisions by Bill O'Brien in loss to Chiefs

3 dumbest decisions by Bill O’Brien in loss to Chiefs

HOUSTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 04: Head coach Bill O'Brien of the Houston Texans looks on against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter of the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at NRG Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – SEPTEMBER 10: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans scrambles against the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on September 10, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Bill O’Brien made too many confusing decisions Thursday night.

Bill O’Brien had a full offseason to prepare for a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs after the Super Bowl champions knocked out his Houston Texans in the Divisional Round. That game saw the Texans jump out to a 24-0 lead and end up losing 51-31.

O’Brien made a ton of mistakes in that game and seemed to learn nothing as the Chiefs picked up another easy victory over the Texans in Thursday’s season opener. Sports talk radio should be interesting Friday morning in Houston and O’Brien’s mistakes will stand out as a key talking point.

1. Running too much in the third quarter

O’Brien seemed to have no sense of urgency in the third quarter. The Texans opened the half trailing 17-7 and finally got the ball down 24-7 after the Chiefs marched down the field to start the quarter.

The drive opened with a pass, only for O’Brien to then call five more run players before a punt ended the eight-play drive. There was a first down from the Texans’ 47-yard-line and O’Brien called two straight runs. All of this came while trailing 24-7. An obvious pass play was called on a third-and-long and Deshaun Watson took a sack.

Was the goal to prove the David Johnson trade was a smart one? The Texans just paid Watson a fortune and decided to treat this drive like the score was 0-0. The next Chiefs drive took nearly five minutes and by the time the Texans got the ball back it was time for the fourth quarter.

In a shocking development, O’Brien began that drive with a run.

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