New England Patriots Are Not Underestimating Brock Osweiler
By Nick Ziegler
Despite Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler struggling for most of the season, the New England Patriots aren’t taking him lightly.
On Saturday night, the New England Patriots will be hosting the Houston Texans. After defeating the Oakland Raiders rather easily in the Wild Card Round, the Texans will be entering New England as huge underdogs. As double-digit underdogs, it could be a tough night for the Texans.
One of the reasons why the Patriots are favored by so much is because of Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler. After signing a huge contract in the offseason, Osweiler has been a disappointment for the Texans this season.
In 2016, Osweiler has totaled 15 touchdown passes, 16 interceptions, and a completion percentage below 60 percent. All of these numbers are poor for a quarterback, and they resulted in Osweiler being benched for Tom Savage at one point this season. Despite his struggles, the Patriots aren’t taking him lightly.
“In the pocket, he likes to stay in the pocket and look down the field, he’s so big, he can pretty much see everything,” linebacker Rob Ninkovich said to Jen McCaffrey of Masslive.com. “He can make every throw, he’s really good pocket quarterback but he can also get out and run so as a defensive lineman you have to be aware of situations where he can pull the ball down and try and run and that’s up to the front.”
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Against the Raiders, Osweiler had one of his better games of the season. In the win, he totaled one rushing and one passing touchdown. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over for the Texans.
“You just have to do a good job of getting up in the middle of the pocket and put pressure in his face,” defensive end Chris Long said to Jen McCaffrey. “He’s a tall guy so it’s harder to bat balls around and that type of thing and stay after it any way you can because the guy is 6-foot-8.”
While the Raiders were able to have a great season, it wasn’t because of their defense. On Saturday, Osweiler will be facing a much better defense in New England. On Saturday, he could be in for a long day.
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In the first meeting, Osweiler and the Texans’ offense were shutout by the Patriots in Week 3. Even though the Patriots were without Tom Brady, they handled the Texans and Osweiler with ease. On Saturday night, they will hope to do the same.