On paper, the Christmas Day matchup between the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers figured to be a tough one for Bill O’Brien’s team. But ‘tough’ doesn’t begin to describe it.
There was very little joy at NRG Stadium on Christmas Day, as the Texans dropped their fifth in a row by a final of 34 to 6. The Texans, now 4-11, have lost nine of their last eleven games, and O’Brien didn’t sugar coat things in his postgame meeting with reporters.
“It’s brutal. Not good. Been a tough year,” O’Brien stated.
There were a couple of highlights for the Texans though. One of them was DeAndre Hopkins, whose three-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to get the Texans on the scoreboard is one that you will likely see for a long time to come. Still, it doesn’t take away the pain of the loss.
“Every loss is a tough game, especially in the situation we are in. Not being able to get a win in our home stadium on Christmas Day, it’s tough,” Hopkins said.
Speaking of playing at home, you could be forgiven if you thought this was a Pittsburgh home game. There were a lot of fans at NRG Stadium wearing Steelers jerseys, and they were a rowdy Steelers crowd as well.
The other Texans highlight came in the form of Offensive Lineman Dan Quessenberry. Three years ago, Quessenberry was diagnosed with lymphoma. It took a long time, but he beat cancer and made his NFL debut last night.
“That guy was in tough shape and for him to come back and play in an NFL game is an incredible thing if you ask me,” O’Brien stated.
But that was about the only thing O’Brien could be happy about, as he was peppered with questions about why he chose to throw the ball instead of running it when the Texans were inside the Steelers 5-yard line in the first half.
The game was also rough on Texans quarterbacks. T.J. Yates started and was pulled to be evaluated for a concussion. His replacement, Taylor Heinecke, wound up leaving the game in order to be evaluated for a concussion.
The Texans are now 4-11 this year and will finish out the season next Sunday on the road against the Indianapolis Colts.