Watson: 'No doubt' O'Brien is right coach for Texans
The Houston Texans blew a 24-point lead in Saturday's divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and much of the blame was laid at the feet of head coach Bill O'Brien.
Though some outside the organization seemingly don't believe O'Brien is the man to deliver Houston a Super Bowl title, Watson remains firmly in his head coach's corner.
"No doubt. I mean, you might have doubt, but there's no doubt," said Watson. "I love that man, I'm going to play hard for that man."
"No doubt. You might have doubt, but I don't. I love that man."
- CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) January 13, 2020
Deshaun Watson on if Bill O'Brien is the right coach to lead the Texans. pic.twitter.com/laLkcDO1LL
After an aggressive start helped the Texans jump out to a stunning first-quarter lead, O'Brien passed on the chance to step on the Chiefs' throat. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-1 from Kansas City's 21-yard line, Houston kicked the field goal to go up 24-0.
"I felt like I had a first down there and when I didn't, I just felt like we didn't have a great play there for the fourth down at that point and time," O'Brien told reporters postgame, per Nick Shook of NFL.com. "So, I felt like it was better to kick the three but that's a very fair question. I felt like it was just better to kick the field goal there."
O'Brien seemingly tried to rectify the conservative decision on the Texans' next possession, running an unsuccessful fake punt that gave good field position to the Chiefs, who quickly cut the deficit to 10 points.
The Texans go for the fake punt and the @Chiefs defense makes a huge play! #ChiefsKingdom #NFLPlayoffs
- NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2020
: #HOUvsKC on CBS
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Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/ytW9g3rQZM pic.twitter.com/SQ4heoPvSO
With back-to-back AFC South titles and the support of his franchise quarterback, O'Brien's job shouldn't be in danger. But his decisions in this game will likely still be second-guessed and debated in Houston for the foreseeable future.
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