The Houston Texans have lost three straight games and are showing little to no signs of improvement. Despite having some of the best playmakers in the league on their roster, the Texans just cannot gain any kind of consistency and the blame is mainly falling on the offense. Naturally, Ryan Fitzpatrick is getting the majority of the criticism as he fails to get points on the board with Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins running the sideline. However, everyone in the organization is coming to his defense after a recent loss.
Johnson spoke to the media after a heavy amount of criticism was placed on Fitzpatrick and he defended his quarterback to the fullest extent. The quarterback missed Johnson several times during a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the two have never appeared to be on the same page. The wide receiver takes blame for that noting that the two players need to do a better job of working on their communication on and off the field.
"When you don't win, everybody needs to look at themselves and see what they can do better," Johnson said, via Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle. "We all need to pick our play up, fix the mistakes we're making and do what we need to do to win. You can't dwell on one person or one guy. Head coaches and quarterbacks are going to get the bulk of the criticism because of the positions they're in. He has a tough job, a lot to think about on every play. You just have to communicate with him, let him know what you're seeing, stuff like that. Everybody makes mistakes. I make mistakes. Nobody's perfect."
Could Johnson's preseason holdout be playing a part in this issue? The wide receiver made headlines over the summer when he criticized the organization noting that he was tired of losing. He did not report until training camp, missing valuable time to begin gaining chemistry with the newly acquired Fitzpatrick. Johnson will not be traded prior to the mid-season deadline, but an offseason move in 2015 could be in his future.
The Texans have Ryan Mallett waiting in the wings, but the praise from several offensive players say a move is not happening. Head coach Bill O'Brien was quick to stress that Fitzpatrick was the starting quarterback of the team and that was not changing. If the Texans refuse to make a quarterback adjustment, then why did they acquire the quarterback in the first place? There are no roster moves coming in the team's future, but if the losing continues then they will have an interesting offseason.
