Say what you will about the Denver Broncos’ struggles on offense of late, at least the team they’re facing Monday night is in the same boat.
The Houston Texans are in sole possession of first place in the AFC South after an overtime win against the Colts. Houston is 4-2 on the season (just like Denver) but ranks 30th in the NFL in scoring with 18.0 points per game. Denver is dead-middile-of-the-road at 23.3. Their 327.7 yards per game rank only slightly better at 27th, one spot ahead of Denver with 323.3.
However, it’s not the anemic performance of the Houston offense under new, $72 million quarterback Brock Osweiler that might have Texans fans concerned, but rather a report that Osweiler and head coach Bill O’Brien were arguing over play calling. O’Brien downplayed a report that he and Osweiler had a “heated exchange” after a quarterbacks meeting last week following film review of Houston’s Week 5 loss to the Vikings. The original report from CBS Sports said the exchange was a result of Osweiler’s objections to play calling.
Osweiler later said “The interactions that have occurred between coach O’Brien and myself, or even coach [George] Godsey (the Texans’ offensive coordinator) are nothing out of the norm. Everybody wants to win.”
On Monday, O’Brien called it the “biggest non-story of the year,” although it didn’t stop the guys at 120 Sports from asking the question, “Who has more clout in Houston: O’Brien and Osweiler?”
The answer is obviously O’Brien, who has led Houston to a 9-7 record in each of his first two seasons and an AFC South title in 2015. But fresh of a big contract and struggling to fulfill expectations, it’s easy to see why Osweiler might be feeling a bit tense. Through six weeks, Osweiler’s 74.1 passer rating ranks only ahead of Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Fitzpatrick among qualified players. His replacement in Denver, Trevor Siemian, is tied for 15th in the NFL at 92.4.
Things haven’t been perfect in Denver, either. After Week 2, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was quite vocal about not getting the ball in his hands enough. Siemian responded with back-to-back weeks targeting Sanders 13 times, with the speedy wideout finding the end zone three times in that span. In the two weeks that followed, Sanders had just fifteen combined targets and did not score. He spoke out again this week, saying the running game needs to do its part to open up the rest of the offense. He didn’t go so far as to point fingers at any players in particular, but Broncos fans are no doubt hoping the run game responds the same way Siemian did in Week 3 when he went on to win AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Sanders’ has been the loudest voice in Denver about the team’s offensive deficiencies, but by all accounts Siemian and head coach Gary Kubiak are on the same page trying to return the Denver offense to the form it had against Cincinnati and Tampa Bay where Denver cruised to 12- and 20-point victories, respectively.
Both teams will have a tough task this week trying to exorcise those offensive demons. Both Denver and Houston rank in the top 10 in total defense. The Broncos are slightly better there and in points allowed, where they rank eighth in the league. Houston will be without All-Pro linebacker J.J. Watt (back) indefinitely, giving a slight edge to Denver heading into Monday.
Despite their struggles, each team enters Monday’s matchup atop its respective division at 4-2 and still very much in the conversation for a high seed in the AFC playoffs.