Texans' Bill O'Brien on not calling late timeout: 'I screwed that up'

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Texans coach Bill O'Brien took the brunt of the blame for not calling a timeout faster during the final minute of a 36-33 loss to the New England Patriots.

The Texans allowed too much time to tick off the clock before finally calling their third and final timeout with three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Texans could have had roughly nine more seconds if they had called timeout immediately after wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins' 21-yard reception.

"I screwed that up, that's on me," O'Brien said. "When we lose, it's look in the mirror time and we did not win the game. It's my fault."

O'Brien was asked repeatedly about the timeout decision after the game.

"We should have called a timeout," O'Brien said. "Anything that happened negative in that game is on me. I'm the coach.

"I have to coach better, and that's the way it will always be with me. We have to coach better. Never any finger-pointing in that locker room."

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien speaks to the media following an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien speaks to the media following an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Photo: Steven Senne, Associated Press Photo: Steven Senne, Associated Press Image 1 of / 90 Caption Close Texans' Bill O'Brien on not calling late timeout: 'I screwed that up' 1 / 90 Back to Gallery

O'Brien was also asked about a debatable decision to kick a field goal instead of going for it on 4th-and-1 and trying to pad the lead earlier in the fourth quarter. Following a 36-yard field goal by Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady answered by engineering a game-winning touchdown drive. Brady is the master of the two-minute drill, and he proved that again.

"I considered it, but I felt like at that time, make it a touchdown game was probably the best decision for the team," O'Brien said of setline for three points. "It didn't work out that way.

"You can't kick field goals in the red area and we had too many field goals down there. And you can't leave time on the clock. Tough guy to defend. He's done it a long time."

The Texans had four field goals from Fairbairn. They went 1 for 3 in the red zone.

"Any time you leave two minutes plus on the clock, it's too much time," O'Brien said. "Our guys fought hard. At the end of the day, it comes down to me.

"We've got to do a better job in the red area. If we score touchdowns instead of however many field goals we had, it's a different ballgame. We have to do better in the red area."