Look, it isn’t ideal. The Houston Texans are going into the playoffs with their ex-starting quarterback starting again because their ex-backup quarterback hurt his head and can’t play. But it’s not all doom and gloom for the Houston Texans. Brock Osweiler does bring some positives into the equation for the Texans as they face the Oakland Raiders on Saturday afternoon.

1. Brock Osweiler Has A Career 2/1 TD/INT Ratio Vs. The Raiders

In fact, he has an exactly 2/1 TD/INT ratio in 6 career games against the Raiders. Which is far better than his current TD/INT ratio this season of 15/16 or about .9/1. He has thrown 110 passes in his career over four seasons against Oakland and only had one of those passes caught by the silver and black. That is less than 1% of his passes intercepted by Oakland. If he does that on Saturday, he is almost guaranteed to not throw an interception, unless he passes the ball 100 times. Then he’s likely to throw one. It’s math.

2. He’s Been There Before

Not exactly ‘there’ as in starting a playoff game. But he’s been around them before. He won a Super Bowl last year. He has a ring for it. He knows what it is like to celebrate a playoff win. More than can be said for the Raiders starting quarterback who has never played in a playoff game in his life. Not even in college and they have a playoff now. Heck, Only Sabastian Janikowski knows what is like to wear a Raiders jersey and play in the playoffs. Not even Jon Condo the long snapper played there when the Raiders went to the Super Bowl in 2002. The Raiders and the Texans have the exact same number of players who played on that 2002 Raiders Super Bowl team. And the Texans is a Hall of Famer (Shane Lechler). [Editor’s Note: There was no way Garret wasn’t getting through this story without bringing up Shane Lechler. Shocking this wasn’t in the lede somehow. [Editor’s Note To The Editor’s Note: Garret IS the editor of the website and he just put an editor’s note in his own blog talking in the third person making fun of himself and then supplemented it with another self editor’s note explaining that; in hopes to make the joke about him making fun of himself even funnier. We’re sorry. [Actually, it should be I’m sorry.]]]

3. Averaging 9.5 Yards Per Carry Vs. Oakland In 2016

Brock is not known for his agility.

The Giraffe ran for 9.5 yards an attempt in Mexico City this year. Some credit the altitude, but it just seems he sees the defense well to make some runs. That 9.5 ypa is compared to just a 2.59 career yards per attempt. We better get our giraffe GIF ready.

4. He Knows The Offense

We’ve heard it from Bill O’Brien a ton this season as Osweiler led the Texans to a winning record despite mediocre play. Brock knew what he was supposed to be doing out there, just didn’t do it very well. If he can make a few plays (i.e. Bears game week one) the Texans have a good shot to win this game. Osweiler is actually quite good at reading the defense and checking into running plays at appropriate times. Something the Texans will need to do if they want to advance.

5. Not Brandon Weeden

There are a lot of Texans fans out there who wish Tom Savage was healthy and the Texans had a shot to look at him in a high-pressure situation to see if he is worth being the future going forward. But that isn’t the case. The good thing for the Texans is they have Brock to step in there. A guy who knows the offense, who can manage the game, and check into a lot of run calls. The only other option would be Brandon Weeden, and I don’t think there is anyone else Texans fans could have to start this game. T.J. Yates is already on the Dolphins roster.

Bonus: Trade Value

Imagine a world where Brock Osweiler shows some potential as a starting quarterback in this week’s game. The Texans advance and he starts game two and plays decently, but the Texans are eliminated and decide they don’t want to continue with Osweiler as an option. What if his solid playoff starts earn him enough value a team decides to give him a shot? A Texans playoff win and a draft pick for Brock Osweiler? That would be a win/win for the organization.

It’s not all sunshine and lollipops for Brock Osweiler and the Texans. There are some bad things that come with Brock starting. I take a look at those later this week.