Brock Osweiler Bounces Back To Lead Texans To 20-13 Win Vs Lions

Brock Osweiler bounced back from an atrocious performance last week by throwing for 186 yards and a touchdown to carry the Houston Texans to a 20-13 home victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Brock Osweiler Bounces Back To Lead Texans To 20-13 Win Vs Lions

The Texans (5-3) have only lost on the road this season, including a 27-9 loss to Denver on Monday.

Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston, although he’s been better at home, where he’s thrown eight of his nine touchdown passes.

On Sunday, he gave the Texans a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Fiedorowicz in the second quarter. Houston made it 14-0 when Lamar Miller raced into the end zone from a yard out later in the quarter. That score was set up when DeAndre Hopkins caught a 12-yard pass with one hand.

The Lions (4-4) scored their only touchdown when Theo Riddick connected with Matt Stafford on a 1-yard reception early in the fourth quarter.

The Texans added a field goal after that before a 34-yard field goal by Matt Prater got Detroit back within a score. Houston then recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock to seal the win.

Stafford threw for 240 yards (27 of 41 passes) and a touchdown for the Lions, who saw a three-game winning streak snapped as Detroit found itself unable to continue a string of late-game comebacks.

Two decisions by Lions coach Jim Caldwell drew heavy scrutiny both in real time and in hindsight. First, Caldwell decided against challenging a potential third-quarter fumble by Hopkins because he said his assistant coaches upstairs deemed the pass incomplete on replay. Then, he called the late onside kick with all three timeouts in his pocket.

Robert Nelson recovered the onside, which didn’t got the way the Lions hoped, and the Texans ran out the final 2:53 off the clock.

“Win or lose, you’re typically certainly going to get — in our position, you’re going to criticized in that regard and that’s the way it goes,” Caldwell said. “That’s usually what happens after the decision is made. When you make it on fourth down, there’s no issue. When you don’t, you’ve got to know that, obviously, there’s going to be people say, ‘Well, you shouldn’t have done it.’ In hindsight, I think that happens all the time.

“We didn’t execute. We didn’t get it done. So yeah, I take that on without any question. That’s the way it is. You don’t like it, you better get in another sport, all right. You better get in another line of work. And I don’t mind it, OK? I’ve done it for 39 years.”

Caldwell stated the decision for the kick came down to two factors: The look the Texans showed with their return team, lining up for a regular kick, and the fact that the Lions defense was once again getting bulldozed across the field.

The Texans have a bye for week 9, and will then visit the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Nov. 13. The Lions will next visit the Vikings on Sunday.