Houston Texans not committing to permanent QB switch

HOUSTON -- What felt like an inevitable conclusion to the struggles of Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler finally came to fruition on Sunday when he was benched in favor of backup Tom Savage after a pair of ugly first-half interceptions.

After Savage rallied the Texans to a 21-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, erasing a 13-0 deficit, Texans coach Bill O'Brien was peppered with queries regarding who would start under center when the Cincinnati Bengals visit NRG Stadium on Christmas Eve.

True to form, O'Brien was non-committal despite the statistical evidence that suggests Osweiler isn't the best quarterback for the job.

"We're always going to make decisions in the best interest of the team," O'Brien said. "We'll regroup here tonight. We've got a short week and we'll make decisions on anybody, any starter that we have. We make decisions on that every week.

"We run a very competitive program no matter what people on the outside see or think. We run a very competitive program here and we try to compete on the practice field and reward guys that earn it on the practice field. That's what we'll continue to do here."

The Texans entered Sunday ranked 30th in passing yards per game, 31st in red-zone percentage and dead last in passing yards per play. Osweiler shoulders plenty of blame for that dreadful production with his 59.6 completion percentage and his 16 interceptions, second only to San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers.

Osweiler signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Texans last offseason after emerging with the Denver Broncos last season. He has struggled from the opening weekend.

With the Texans (8-6) locked in a tight battle for the AFC South title with the Tennessee Titans (8-6) and Indianapolis Colts (7-7), O'Brien couldn't wait any longer for Osweiler to rebound.

In all likelihood only the division winner will qualify for the postseason, and with the Texans scuffling offensively with Osweiler at the controls, the time had come for a change that many had been forecasting for several weeks.

"Those decisions aren't up to me," Osweiler said. "I think coach O'Brien, the staff, obviously (Texans general manager) Rick Smith and everybody else I'm sure will have a conversation. My job is just to be ready to play and to prepare like I'm going to play and if I start I start and I'm going to give this team everything I have performance-wise and if I'm the backup, I'm going to be there to support Tom.

"I'm going to coach him and do everything he asks of me and ultimately I just want to be a great teammate and I want to do whatever it takes for this football team to win games."