Bill O’Brien claims the Texans haven’t given up on Brock Osweiler

Despite benching him, Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien says he hasn’t given up on quarterback Brock Osweiler.

It’s an…interesting statement. The Texans, though first in the AFC South and seemingly on the way to the playoffs, didn’t have much of a choice. Nifty new $72 million contract or not, Osweiler had only completed 59.6 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns to 16 interceptions over 14 games.

Osweiler saved the worst for last, a two-interception performance against the two-win Jacksonville Jaguars getting him benched while down 13-0.

Alas, O’Brien hasn’t given up, per CBS Local:

We have not given up on Brock Osweiler and I told him that,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien told Mike Meltser and Seth Payne on Mad Radio on SportsRadio 610 on Wednesday morning. “I think Tom is spinning the ball pretty good and we need to move the ball and I think Tom gives us a chance to that this week and Brock needs to be ready to play.

There’s isn’t much else O’Brien can say publicly, of course. But Osweiler hasn’t come close to living up to expectations and has done little despite a target-rich environment featuring DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

So the Texans will see what Tom Savage can do for the team. He corrected the Texans last week and beat the Jaguars, already a hint the team won’t go back to Osweiler.