Unser Chat » The Houston Texans were on a plane returning fr

HOUSTON (AP) —om their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday when they learned that Pittsburgh's loss to New Orleans had clinched their spot in the playoffs.And according to coach Bill O'Brien the team did nothing to celebrate the moment."We were all watching the film Cullen Gillaspia Jersey , and just trying to be as honest as I can with you, there's was no reaction," O'Brien said. Despite this, O'Brien knows that advancing to the postseason after how his team opened the season is something to be proud of."From 0-3 to where we are now there's definitely a sense that there were some things accomplished," he said. "But there's a lot left out there. We didn't win (Sunday). We had a chance to really do something (Sunday) and we didn't get it done."A win against the Eagles would have given Houston (10-5) the AFC South title. After the 32-30 loss to Philadelphia on a last-second field goal, the Texans need a victory over Jacksonville to win their division, and a win and a loss or tie by New England to get a first-round bye.They'll try and do that with a team riddled with injuries. Running back Lamar Miller missed Sunday's game and remains a question mark for the Jacksonville game with an ankle injury. His absence led to another day of struggles in the running game. Alfred Blue and D'Onta Foreman, who made his 2018 debut after tearing an Achilles tendon in November 2017, combined to rush for just 13 yards."We just haven't gotten it done," O'Brien said. "I don't know what else to tell you. We just have to keep trying to get better."Star receiver DeAndre Hopkins played despite a gimpy ankle and O'Brien hopes he'll feel better by Sunday. But Houston will be without receiver Demaryius Thomas after he sustained what O'Brien indicated is a season-ending Achilles tendon injury against the Eagles.The injury to Thomas is a blow to an already thin group of receivers. Houston traded for the four-time Pro Bowler on Oct. 30 after receiver Will Fuller tore a knee ligament. O'Brien wouldn't provide details on Thomas' injury, but his comments indicated he wouldn't play again this season."Demaryius is a great player, excellent pro, but I feel good about the guys that we have and some of the moves that we may make to help that position," O'Brien said. "I think we can do some things to take up the slack there a little bit. It will be a loss because he was such a good pro and a mentor — all of those things — but we have to move forward."One player who could help fill in for Thomas is Keke Coutee. The rookie has played well when healthy, but has missed nine games, including the last four http://www.texansfanshop.com/Kahale-Warring-Jersey , with hamstring problems. O'Brien didn't rule out that Coutee could return against the Jaguars."He's a really good player," he said. "We like him. We'll just have to see how it goes this week."On Sunday, the Texans got a big play from undrafted rookie receiver Vyncint Smith, who had just one reception this season entering the game. Deshaun Watson connected with Smith on a 35-yard touchdown pass that gave Houston the lead before Philadelphia's late field goal.The Texans like Smith's speed and O'Brien said he's improved a lot since the beginning of the season. He added that Smith and Watson have already developed a good rapport, despite his limited action."You don't make that throw unless you have faith in the guy to make that play," O'Brien said. "I know D4 (Watson) has faith in the guy to make plays, and that's big — the trust."Whoever the Texans have at receiver Sunday, the team remains confident in its passing game because of the continued development of Watson in his second year. Watson has eight touchdown passes with no interceptions in the last five games and has added three rushing touchdowns in that span.O'Brien loves the way Watson has played this season and the leadership role he's taken on this team."He makes a lot of great decisions. He's got good poise," O'Brien said. "He's obviously extremely talented. He made so many plays (Sunday) with his feet, he made plays from the pocket. He made plays outside the pocket. He ran. He did everything he could to help his team win."Some good news on the injury front for Houston is that cornerback/safety Kareem Jackson, who left early in Sunday's game with a knee injury, should be ready against Jacksonville. The Houston Texans have won six straight games for the first time since 2012, leaving their terrible start behind them and putting them firmly in control of the AFC South as they head into their week off.Despite the dramatic turnaround, coach Bill O’Brien and the Texans (6-3) know that they haven’t accomplished anything yet.“We’ve done a great job of coming back from where we were,” O’Brien said. “But we’ve got a long way to go.”Houston’s latest win came in dramatic fashion on Sunday in Denver when the Broncos missed a field goal as time expired to allow the Texans to hold on for the 19-17 victory to keep their winning streak intact. Now they have two weeks to prepare before a trip to visit the Redskins on Nov. 18.Four of the team’s wins during this streak have come by a touchdown or less, giving the Texans confidence in their ability to win close games.“Our first two wins were overtime wins Max Scharping Jersey ,” J.J. Watt said. “When you have to go through those, you learn to never give up hope. You just keep growing one day at a time, one game at a time. It will come.”He agrees with his coach that the Texans can get a lot better and believes this team filled with hard workers will make that happen.“It will continue to come,” Watt said. “We still have a lot of things to work on. You continue to find a way to win while you work on those things. It is a lot better to work on them while you are winning than losing.”The Texans had a shakeup on offense last week when receiver Will Fuller was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament and they traded with Denver for star receiver Demaryius Thomas to take his place. Thomas had three receptions for 61 yards in his Houston debut, but had a false start, lined up in the wrong spot and looked lost on a drive in the fourth quarter, showing he has plenty of work to do to get up to speed before facing Washington.O’Brien said his struggles were understandable considering he only had three days of practice to try and learn what he needed to know before Sunday’s game.“(We’re) just continuing to try to coach him up on what we’re doing offensively,” O’Brien said. “Now, we can kind of take a step back and really go back into what we call the basic information, teach him the formations, teach him the routes, the protections, how the protections fit with the routes that he’s running and things like that and the technique of the route.”While Thomas gets acclimated in Houston, the Texans have been impressed with the development of big rookie tight end Jordan Thomas. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Thomas, who was a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft http://www.texansfanshop.com/Lonnie-Johnson-Jersey , has recently emerged as a great goal-line target. He’s grabbed three short touchdowns in the past two games, adding another dimension to Houston’s red zone offense, which struggled earlier this season.“He was a wide receiver and then as he got bigger, (former Mississippi State coach) Danny Mullen moved him closer to the ball and he became a tight end,” O’Brien said. “Now, he’s had to learn how to block against some of these defensive ends and outside backers and he’s gotten better and better at that.”The Texans’ big winning streak has coincided with long skids by both the Titans and Jaguars, who both have just three wins. The Jaguars have dropped four straight and the Titans have lost three in a row entering Monday’s game against Dallas.The Texans think the attitude they showed in getting through their early struggles will help them as they try to add to their streak after the bye.“A team with grit, fight, one that can really overcome adversity, play good football in tough situations, take care of the football in critical situations, I think that’s the kind of formula that you want to have going down the stretch, hopefully, playing in the playoffs,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said.