Tom Savage is not good at sports.
The Houston Texans quarterback gave the Los Angeles Rams defense 10 points on two awful sack/fumbles. He was lucky he did not give them more on a pick 6 that was called back on a questionable defensive holding call.
He has led his team to one offensive TD in each of the last two games.
Sunday he gave up at least 16 points and generated just 7. What does all that mean?
Savage is not an NFL quarterback. It is questionable he is even a backup in the league. All of that was on display in Sunday’s loss to the Rams, a game that was there for the taking, but turned into a 33-7 LA rout.
There were several other issues — blown coverages and big plays given up by an awful defense again, shaky special teams and a bad offensive line — but Savage was the main culprit.
Savage was just 18 of 37 for 221 yards, one touchdown, two picks and two fumbles. This follows his less than stellar 19 of 44 effort against the Colts. His two starts have been absolutely Osweilerian.
He threw a bad interception in the red zone, one of those “what was he thinking?” passes. What should have been — at worst — a 10-6 lead at halftime became a 9-7 deficit.
He failed to connect on easy passes. His body language screamed that it was all in his head. His pocket presence does not exist, other than he is present in the pocket. He simply does not deserve to be starting.
The Texans defense did its best to keep the team in the game in hopes Savage would come around. He never did. The defense spent too much time on the field and could not hold the Rams down forever. After Savage’s second sack/fumble, they gave up a quick TD and the rout was on.
At 3-6, the Texans season is doomed. It effectively ended when Deshaun Watson went down in practice. But if Savage were even remotely competent, the Texans could be sitting at 5-4 with a chance to win the putrid AFC South. However, Savage’s inability to move the team consistently and penchant for giving points to the opponent took away any hope the Texans had.
It is not on Bill O’Brien. The play calls were there. Savage could not convert. The real problem is not signing a solid backup in the offseason and instead believing in Savage, who has never looked like an NFL quarterback in his prior opportunities.
Do the Texans have a better option? Probably not. And at this point, does it really matter? T.J. Yates is not going to give them a six-game winning streak. The only quarterback that could do that is limping around on the sidelines. And losing does not help the Texans; they have traded away their top two picks next season. In essence, 2017 is lost.
But at least you get to savor the Tom Savage experience. It’s fun if you enjoy watching people who are not good at their jobs.
---------
This column originally appeared on SportsMap.
