In watching the Houston Texans’ film from Week 15, it was clear why Brock Osweiler needed to be benched. That’s no epiphany; Osweiler’s struggles have been clear all season.

What stood out on the film was the play of Tom Savage. After seeing about five throws from him, I knew he had to be the Texans’ starter this week. It was not even a discussion. It sounds strange to say about a quarterback with no career starts and had 19 career passes before Sunday, but Savage was much more polished and refined than Osweiler.

Let’s start with Osweiler’s two interceptions that led to his benching. The play call on the first one was great against Cover 3 zone, and off bang play-action Osweiler threw it too high. This should be pitch and catch, but Osweiler’s accuracy issues – a problem all season – came up again. He threw high and Jalen Ramsey picked it off.

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The second interception was more complicated than just a bad throw. It was the classic quarterback sin of throwing late in the play into the middle of zone coverage. Osweiler climbed in the pocket in response to outside pressure and tried to hit DeAndre Hopkins in the middle. Osweiler lost coverage clarity and did not see underneath linebacker Telvin Smith sitting in the middle. It was a lack of awareness and a bad decision.

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