As much as the homer media and fans have repeatedly lauded our OL, when we finally come against a strong D, the warts pop up all over the place and they individually reveal their true colors.
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Texans' offensive line ineffectual against Bengals
December 24, 2016 Updated: December 24, 2016 11:29pm
The Texans' offensive line was completely [
fill in the blank] against the Cincinnati Bengals' formidable defensive front Saturday.
During a 12-10 win, new starting quarterback Tom Savage was sacked four times and hit 10 times overall.
They allowed three sacks in the first quarter alone, making it virtually impossible for Savage to get into any semblance of a rhythm early in the game.
"It's not an easy defense to go against," Pro Bowl alternate left offensive tackle Duane Brown said. "They did a lot of adjustments, a lot of moving around to try to throw him off, throw us off up front. We've got to continue to protect better and sit those guys down so Tom has time to operate. When he has time to operate, he can make some big-time throws. We're all in this together."
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins busted through a shoddy block by right guard Jeff Allen to sack Savage in the first half.
Atkins leads all NFL interior defensive linemen with 8½ sacks. He had 11 sacks last season to again lead the NFL in that category and is regarded as one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the league.
During the first quarter, defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry had 1½ sacks and two quarterback hits.
Defensive end Michael Johnson combined with Gilberry for the Bengals' other sack. Left guard Xavier Su'a-Filo was beaten on the play.
During the first half, Savage completed just 2 of 7 passes for 13 yards and was hit five times. The offensive line was brutally bad, and simply no match for the Bengals' pass rushers.
Savage had a 39.6 passer rating. He averaged just 1.9 yards per passing attempt. It was a staggeringly bad display of blocking.
The Texans managed just 34 yards of total offense and two first downs in the first half as they fell behind 3-0 by halftime.
The Texans rushed for only 39 yards on 13 carries, averaging three yards per run as Alfred Blue had little room to operate and gained just 28 yards on 11 carries.
The blocking improved in the second half, though.
They finished the game with 95 rushing yards on 24 carries as Blue rushed for 73 yards on 21 carries, including a game-winning 24-yard touchdown run.
The Texans operated in a no-huddle attack in the second half to try to protect Savage better. He finished the game 18 of 29 for 176 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions for a 79.1 passer rating.
"We went to no-huddle, he was able to get rid of the ball a little bit quicker," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "With no-huddle our pace our rhythm, it was a good job by the offensive staff of getting him into a rhythm."