How much of the Houston Texans’ 21-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Saturday in the AFC wild-card at NRG Stadium was coach Bill O’Brien’s fault?

Answer: all of it.

The Texans came out flat against the Colts. With the way Indianapolis took it to Houston to start out the game, one would have thought playoff-beard Frank Reich was the gray wizard of the AFC South with three division titles and O’Brien the rookie coach who led an improbable team into the postseason. There may be something to the stat that O’Brien is now 4-6 against rookie coaches.

In the first half, they surrendered 276 yards and 20 first downs to Indianapolis. Quarterback Andrew Luck completed 16 passes on 22 attempts for 191 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Running back Marlon Mack produced 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Of course, the stat that matters is the 21-0 score.

Houston’s offense could get nothing going in the first half with quarterback Deshaun Watson completing 11-of-18 for 90 yards and an interception. The leading rusher was none other than the star quarterback, who Houston gave up draft picks to get in 2017, as he gained 23 yards on three carries. Where was Alfred Blue? Two carries for eight yards. Where was Lamar Miller? Three carries for five yards. There was no answer. It wasn’t so much that Houston was uninspired; no one among the final 12 teams in the tournament is taking the field without inspiration. Rather, it was that the Texans came out without any instant execution. There was the sense that they felt it would click eventually, and by the time they looked up, they were down 14-0.

The old line about O’Brien being too conservative wasn’t necessarily true. The fifth-year coach went for it twice in the first half. Try fourth-and-4 from the Colts’ 45-yard line. Try fourth-and-1 from the Colts’ 9-yard line. How many times has O’Brien elected to punt or sent in the field goal unit? He responded to the finality and momentous occasion of the playoffs with big gambles. They didn’t pay off, but he did endeavor to go for it and not stay conservative.

Where O’Brien failed the Texans was with not getting receiver Keke Coutee involved in the game early. Coutee had six targets throughout the first half. With the pressure that Watson was under, Coutee should have had more targets, especially considering he was a relief valve for Watson later in the game. As Watson took a sack and was under constant pressure, there should have been more options available.

Here’s the thing: O’Brien knows he failed the team today, too.

“I stood up there and said, ‘Look, I just didn’t do a good enough job getting you guys ready to play,’ O’Brien told reporters after the game.

That type of accountability is what will help the Texans improve as they retool their roster and their coaching personnel in the off-season. Watson took 62 sacks in 2018, the third-most in franchise history. Factor in quarterback hits, and the second-year signal caller probably endured 150 hits at a conservative number.

Houston lost its way after the nine-game winning streak. Was it the injuries catching up to the Texans? Whatever it was, the Texans have to address the pains of December and that lone January weekend so they don’t come out flat in 2019.