Bill O'Brien deserves applause for running the best worst offense in the NFL.

Seriously.

I mean, for the Texans to be as good as they are considering how bad they are, is a testament to his coaching genius.

OK, genius is a bit much, and I can see how this might come across as asteism, but let's give the guy some credit for his ability to recognize his team's limitations.

Recognition is as important to coaching as teaching. Clearly, O'Brien realizes that his quarterback isn't good enough to be entrusted with a high percentage of the team's fortune.

Houston is 7-6 and in first place in the AFC South, despite Brock Osweiler being on the field for all of the team's 862 plays, and being, arguably, the least productive starting quarterback in the NFL.

No need to argue it here. The five-year veteran and first-year Texans quarterback even being in the debate indicates how poorly he has played.

Wisely, we assume, O'Brien knows what he is working with and has accepted the things he cannot change.

Like the New England Patriots, the Texans pride themselves on being a "game plan" offense.

For the Patriots, that means Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will tailor their offense to whatever weaknesses they see in an opponent and exploit that. Instead of a "This is what we run, stop it," approach, they tend to present a "You struggle against this, so we'll do a lot of it," attack.

Theirs is a versatile offense that can come at you in a variety of ways, and it is run by the best quarterback in NFL history.

The Texans, on the other hand, have what they describe as a complicated offensive system. It is supposed to be as versatile and sophisticated as the Patriots', but it appears to be simple and plain, because it is run by a quarterback not named Tom Brady.

Last Sunday at Indianapolis, Osweiler threw a season-low 24 passes, completing a season-low matching 14 for just 147 yards.

Yet, O'Brien praised him after the Texans' 22-17 win.

"I think Brock did a nice job of managing the game and did exactly what we asked him to do," O'Brien said.

Exactly? Okey dokey.

Against the Colts, Osweiler was off-target, looked rattled when there was little to be rattled about and was held back by play-calling - well, aside from a curious third-and-short pass play - that was surely designed to take the game out of his hands.

If he is capable of a big game, he might as well save it for the postseason.

Unwelcome flashback

The Texans are the only team in the NFL that hasn't had a 257-yard passing game this season.

Allow that to marinate for a minute.

The Texans have NEVER had a season in which they didn't have a game in which they totaled at least 257 yards passing.

Despite the fact that sack yards are deducted from passing yards to reach a final number, David Carr always managed to have at least one game that was more productive yardage-wise than as Osweiler has put up this year.

The Texans have won twice this season when they threw for 131 yards or fewer. The only season they won more is their inaugural year as a franchise, when three of their wins, including their first game against the Cowboys, were earned despite paltry passing numbers.

This year's Texans' offense is taking us back to a time when Nelly ruled the charts, but it's definitely not "Hot in Herre" or anywhere the Texans offense has been played.

Houston has scored a league-low 19 offensive touchdowns, and is one of only two teams that has more made field goals than touchdowns scored.

Thank goodness for the AFC South, where the Texans have won nine straight games and host 2-11 Jacksonville on Sunday.

"As far as the division, I think it's a very tough division," O'Brien said. "I don't get into whatever the narrators, authors, journalists think about the AFC South. I think it's a tough division.

"I think anyone who writes that, again, you have to grasp how hard it is to win a game in this league. These divisional games are very difficult. Give our players a lot of credit, they've played well in the division lately but it needs to continue on Sunday."

Say what you want about the competition - even if O'Brien's chastises you for it - a win over AFC South foe counts just as much in the standings as a win over (insert good team the Texans can't beat here).

O'Brien recognizes that. If the Texans beat division foes Jacksonville and Tennessee (in the season finale), the win the division title and will host a playoff game.

That would be two years in a row, for just the second time in Texans' history.

And O'Brien will have done it with one of the worst offenses in the league.

That's some really good coaching, right?