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HOUSTON -- It doesn't erase the struggles he had during the regular season, but Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler's performance in Saturday's 27-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders was a step in the right direction. Osweiler, who was making his first start since being benched for Tom Savage in Week 15, finished the game 14-of-25 for 168 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Texans a 20-point lead, their biggest of the season. For just the third time this season, Osweiler did not turn the ball over in a game he started. "I thought he had a good game. He took care of the ball, he executed the game plan," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "He got into a good rhythm and he was able to get off to a good start on a lot of drives. "I thought the offensive line had a nice game, for the most part. We had a couple breakdowns, but I thought they played better than they had been playing. I think we rushed for over 120 yards, which is good. I think anytime we do that, we have a chance to win, in addition to taking care of the ball. Everybody on offense did a nice job today." When Houston signed Osweiler in March, it was clear the Texans were looking for a quarterback to help them in the playoffs -- especially after the Texans were blown out 30-0 in the wild-card round last year by the Kansas City Chiefs. Though Osweiler did not play as well as the Texans envisioned for most of the season, he did deliver on that playoff expectation. Houston has had to rely on its defense all season to keep the Texans in games -- and that unit had another great game against the Raiders -- but Osweiler played well enough that it wasn't necessary on Saturday. Though Osweiler slowed down in the second half -- as did the Texans' playcalling -- he did enough in the first half to lead them to the victory. Osweiler’s second-quarter touchdown to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was his first passing touchdown at home since Week 8 against the Detroit Lions. The score was set up by a 38-yard pass from Osweiler to Hopkins that took the Texans into the red zone. Hopkins finished the game with a team-leading five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. The Texans scored three touchdowns on offense for just the second time this season. "My coaches and Brock [Osweiler] trusted me to give me the ball," Hopkins said. "We knew we would get one where only I could get it. We saw some things in the red zone against these guys that we could take advantage of. We went out there and did it." Osweiler has especially struggled throwing downfield this season. In the regular season, Osweiler completed just 26.5 percent of his passes that were thrown at least 15 yards downfield. He showed improvement Saturday, highlighted by his deep pass to Hopkins in the second quarter. The victory was the Texans' first in the playoffs since the 2012 season. The Texans will travel to play the No. 1 New England Patriots or the second-seeded Chiefs for the divisional round, pending the outcome of Sunday's game between the No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers and No. 6 Miami Dolphins. Houston will play the Patriots if Pittsburgh wins, or Kansas City if the Dolphins prevail. "[It's] such a great feeling to still be playing at this time of the year," O'Brien said. "It just gives you a second wind and I know everybody's excited about it."
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