Getty Images

Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney has played well this season, but coach Bill O’Brien says there’s one way he can play better: Cut down on penalties.

O’Brien said Clowney, who has been penalized eight times this season including an offsides and a taunting on Sunday, needs to clean it up.

“Guys that play like he does – he plays the game in a really attacking way, and so people are going to use their cadence against him and he’s just got to be really focused on that,” O’Brien said. “Then, the taunting call, like somebody asked me if I’m going to – yeah, I’ll talk to him about it, but I’m not going to go down the road of what. I think he just was just kind of messing around with the guy, but you can’t do that. You can’t do that, and that’s what they called and we’ll make sure that he knows not to do that anymore.”

A certain number of penalties are unavoidable, especially for a pass rusher. But Clowney has been flagged for taunting twice already this year. That’s something he can and should correct.