OBrien defends late penalty from Clowney in loss to Colts

  • Houston Texans coach Bill OBrien on Monday defended Jadeveon Clowney and his late offside penalty that factored into Houstons 24-21 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, which ended a nine-game winning streak.Hes an aggressive player and you never want to take away that aggressiveness Jabaal Sheard Jersey, OBrien said. In that situation, he made a mistake, and Im sure hed be the first to tell you that. Andrew did a good job on that play, and Frank did a good job of getting their guys coached up on it.With two minutes remaining on Sunday and the Texans down 24-21 and needing a critical stop at midfield on third-and-1, Luck tried several times to draw the Texans offside before Clowney finally took the bait. The 5-yard penalty gave the Colts a first down and, ultimately, the win. The Colts snapped a franchise-record winning streak by Houston , trimming the Texans lead in the AFC South to two games with three remaining.Clowney later refused to comment when approached by reporters after the game.OBrien said Monday that on the play, there was a sense among the Texans defensive players that the Colts would try to run the ball in the short-yardage situation and that Clowney was not at fault for the loss.Hes a very aggressive player who has made a lot of plays for us, OBrien said. We didnt lose the game because of that. We lost the game because we had four or five three-and-outs, gave up 199 yards to one receiver and we didnt play our best game on special teams. Thats really more what it came down to.Clowney had two tackles in the game and has 7 sacks on the season, second on the team to J.J. Watts 12½ sacks.No one wants to lose, OBrien said. Its a bottom-line business when you lose a game like that. Weve lost four games this year by a touchdown or less and thats the NFL these games are very, very tight. There are six to eight plays in a game that are critical and if you dont execute those plays, youre probably going to lose the game.The receiver OBrien was referring to was T.Y. Hilton who entered the game as the NFLs leader in receiving yards per game at NRG Stadium with 122 https://www.coltsgoodsstore.com/221-Colts_Michael_Pittman_Jr_Jersey.3 and only padded his lead with a 199-yard performance on nine catches. Luck threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns.OBrien said there are things the defense can shore up before the Texans visit the Jets on Saturday to avoid giving up more big plays in the passing game.I think the big thing is, when you look at the tape, on those particular plays, we have not combined coverage and rush Matthew Adams Jersey, OBrien said.Whether it was the rush not getting home or the coverage playing too loose. We just have to continue to work at that and clean those things up, relative to who were playing. I dont really get worried about anything and just make sure our guys understand where we need to improve.