By Aaron Wilson, Houston Chronicle
December 25, 2017
T.J. Yates fumbles as he is sacked by Cam Heyward (97) during the second quarter of Monday's game. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)
Texans quarterback T.J. Yates got slammed to the ground Monday afternoon as Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mike Hilton blitzed off the edge for one of his three sacks.
The latest breakdown in pass protection during a 34-6 loss left Yates shaken up and triggered the Texans' latest experience with the NFL concussion protocol and injuries at the quarterback position.
As Yates went under the blue medical tent on the sideline to be evaluated by doctors, trainers and an independent neurologist as mandated by the league before later being cleared and allowed to return, backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke entered the game and became the fourth different quarterback to play this season for the Texans due to a myriad of injuries under center.
Heinicke later got knocked out of the game with a concussion of his own and Yates went back in for the second half and finished the game.
Yates said it was referee Bill Vinovich who pulled him out of the game. The Texans, independent spotters and neurologists are the subject of a joint NFL-NFL Players Association investigation into how the concussion protocol was handled when quarterback Tom Savage was initially allowed to go back into the game. Savage absorbed a crushing hit from San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil that left him lying down with his hands and arms twitching. He was later ruled out and was placed on injured reserve this week.
"I appreciate his cautiousness," said Yates, who was sacked six times and had a 54.9 passer rating. "It's a very sensitive subject right now. That fact that it took so long, the whole process took about 30 minutes for me to get back out there, that was a little frustrating for me. I'd rather them be more cautious than not.
"At the same time, taking players off the field when they're fine is frustrating to players. It's kind of a double-edged sword. Eventually, the process of the whole concussion protocol will get better and better. It's just a very hot topic right now. He felt that I got hit in the head and that I needed to come out."
Heinicke completed his only pass for 10 yards to wide receiver Will Fuller before being sacked by Hilton and knocked out of the game.
The instability and amount of injuries at quarterback, including star rookie Deshaun Watson being out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, is staggering.
"That's what happens, it's what you do," O'Brien said. "You just go to the next guy. It's, 'Hey, here's the plays we're going to run with you,' and then that guy is cleared."
It was an extremely rough game for Yates. He was under a lot of duress, but wasn't accurate. He completed just 7 of 16 passes for 83 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The Steelers had seven sacks overall.
"I wasn't very sharp to start the game off, and that kind of stalled us," Yates said. "The running game was going great. I was off to begin with. Playing against a team like that, you can't get behind, and it didn't get much better after that. We ended up getting a score later in the game, but I've just got to be a lot better."
Those shortcomings included Yates throwing an interception in the end zone to Steelers cornerback Artie Burns when the Texans squandered a first-and-goal situation on a throw intended for Fuller. He also misfired on a throw to an open Braxton Miller.
"Obviously, it was a poor throw on the interception to Will and the one to Braxton," Yates said. "I just kind of put too much on it. Had him open. I've just got to hit him. Definitely a missed opportunity because that could have changed up the landscape of the game."
The offensive line struggled mightily against an aggressive Steelers pass rush.
They keep allowing quarterbacks to get hit. The Texans have allowed a combined 52 sacks to opponents this year.
"It's unfortunate," Texans offensive guard Xavier Su'a-Filo said. "It's a pride thing for us as an offensive line, we take pride in running the ball and protecting the quarterback. We never want to see our guys get hurt."
Making his second career start, rookie left tackle Julién Davenport had his moments. He also guessed wrong when he thought Hilton was pretending to blitz, but was actually running into the backfield.
"We've got to do a good job of correcting that," Davenport said. "One of them was on me. I called it out and the guy bluffed. I thought they were bluffing. I got screwed on that one. We've got to do a better job of making sure everybody is good and protecting our quarterbacks."
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