The Bill O'Brien era has officially begun - with a victory.
On Sunday O'Brien earned his first win and first game ball as head coach of the Houston Texans. Founder, Chairman, and CEO Bob McNair presented the game ball to O'Brien following the Texans 17-6 victory over Washington.
"I think what you need to take away from this is that the players have bought into what Coach O'Brien is teaching and his methods," McNair said. "The way he goes about preparing for games produces these results. I think, as I've said all along, we'll be a competitive football team as long as we stay healthy. I think tonight kind of confirms that feeling."
The Texans defense sacked Washington's Robert Griffin III three times and kept him from scoring. Special teams scored on a blocked punt and return by rookie Alfred Blue. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 206 yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 109.3. With contributions from every side of the ball, McNair described the Texans' first win under O'Brien as "tremendous."
"Any time you hold a team to six points; think back, what games have you seen where a team has scored six points? In this league, that's fantastic," McNair said. "So, we did it. Our special teams came through. As we said, everybody plays their role. Offense played well. Fitz played well, protected the ball. We had one fumble, didn't have any interceptions. Everybody played hard and we're going to keep working and try to get better."
