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: Head coach Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans looks on against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on September 10, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2. A punt to raise the white flag

We pick up after the Watson sack on that run-filled drive in the third quarter.

The sack gave the Texans a 4th-and-9 from their own 48-yard-line. Remember, the score was 24-7 at this point with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. A punt meant giving the ball back to arguably the best offense in the NFL.

So what did O’Brien do? He punted!

The Chiefs ended up taking about five minutes off the clock before punting it back to the Texans. However, that does not make this a smart move. The Texans were still down 17 points and almost at midfield. Watson is a great quarterback and is being paid like a superstar. But his head coach decided to punt.

The Texans offense had seven points at that juncture in the game. Did O’Brien expect the offense to suddenly wake up in the fourth quarter? There is just a lack of logic that is tough to explain. Punting just delays the inevitable loss without much of a fight.

The offense finally did get going late in the fourth quarter at a point in time when the Chiefs offense was just trying to kill time. The padded stats at the end of the game are all but meaningless given the way the rest of the game went.

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