Tom Savage, Deshaun Watson face no-win situation if Texans won’t pay Duane Brown

Tom Savage got exactly one half of the 2017 NFL season to prove himself as a starter. A combination of a smothering Jaguars defense and the failures of his own offensive line made his first 30 minutes of the year a no-win situation.

Savage’s first season opener as Houston’s starting quarterback went poorly, then went goodbye. The fourth-year veteran, once a refreshing change of pace from the failed Brock Osweiler experiment of 2016, led his team to zero first half points in a 29-7 loss to Jacksonville. His awful performance was his undoing; head coach Bill O’Brien turned to rookie Deshaun Watson at halftime.

The Jaguars, 3-13 last fall, snapped a six-game losing streak against the Texans in the process; the win was just their third against Houston since 2010.

The numbers paint an ugly picture for the home team’s starter. Savage dropped back 19 times in the first two quarters and completed just seven of his passes. He averaged a meager 4.8 yards per pass -- a full yard less than Osweiler’s 2016 mark.

But Savage’s failure to move the chains Sunday isn’t all on him. The Texans’ offensive line, putting together its best Auburn impression, allowed him to get sacked six times. When he did have time to plant his feet and look downfield, his targets were blanketed by what looks like one of the league’s elite secondaries. 2016 draft pick Jalen Ramsey and 2017 free agent acquisition A.J. Bouye kept top wideout DeAndre Hopkins in check, limiting him to a 43.8 percent catch rate.

Watson, after a hot start, fell prey to the same struggles as his predecessor. While he was able to find the end zone on his first drive as a pro,

he completed just 12 of his 23 passes for 102 yards and an interception — a worse-than-Savage 4.4 yards per attempt. He was sacked a comparatively low four times, but the first resulted in a costly fumble in Jacksonville territory.

Houston can’t do anything about its rivals’ upgraded defenses, but there’s an easy fix that will allow Watson or Savage a little extra security -- the team can pay Duane Brown. Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler, has been an anchor of the team’s offensive line since 2008, protecting the blindsides of passers like Matt Schaub, Brian Hoyer, and Ryan Fitzpatrick at left tackle. He wasn’t on the field Sunday, however; instead, he’s stuck in a contract holdout that’s scratched the team’s most reliable blocker from the lineup.

Brown is due $9.4 million this year and $9.75m the next, but neither of those years are guaranteed. He’s angling for a new contract or extension that would provide some additional security as the miles pile up on his football odometer. The former All-Pro just turned 32, but he still played at a high level last fall.

Even a diminished Brown would be a considerable upgrade from the disjointed efforts of the team’s Week 1 line. Former undrafted free agent Kendall Lamm topped the team’s depth chart at left tackle while Jets releasee Breno Giacomini held down the right, with longtime utility tackle Chris Clark spelling each. Slotting Brown back into the lineup not only gives the team its best pass blocker back, but also allows the players who have been covering for him to return to positions where they’re more comfortable and useful.

The Texans have a win-now defense which they owe a competent counterpart. There’s a quick fix to Houston’s biggest problem, but it won’t be cheap. Paying Duane Brown would add stability to a line that got its quarterback buried under a sea of pass rushers in Week 1. However, it won’t fix a defense that somehow gave up 29 points to Blake Bortles Sunday.