CINCINNATI — After Tom Savage’s agent blasted the Houston Texans for benching his client for rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson in Week 1, Savage said he addressed his teammates about the critical comments.
“I spoke to everybody on this team about it,” said Savage, who was the Texans’ backup quarterback in the team’s 13-9 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. “I spoke to all the leaders, I spoke to coach, I spoke to Deshaun, [assistant coach] Pat [O’Hara], all those guys.
“I mean, it just is what it is. [Neil Schwartz] defended me. And the most important thing is I have this team’s back. I will go to war with Bill [O’Brien] and this organization any day of the week.”
The rookie QB showed there is plenty of work ahead, but provided just enough juice to spark a Texans team plagued by adversity to its first victory.
Texans star J.J. Watt said he wasn’t worried about his injured finger from Week 1 because as long as it was attached, “that’s all that matters.” Watt reinjured the finger during Thursday’s win over the Bengals, noting it was “pretty messed up.”
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On an NBCSports podcast, Schwartz said he had spoken to Savage about his appearance on the show and said the quarterback was comfortable with his message.
“They told me they were going to defend me, and I said OK,” Savage said. “I didn’t really go through what they were going to say or anything like that. It was just one of those deals.
“I felt the need to talk to the team about it, because by any means, I do not want to be a distraction to this team. That’s not my goal. I will be here, I will support this team.”
Watson, who made his first NFL start, scored the lone touchdown on a 49-yard run and finished with 67 yards on five carries. He completed 15-of-24 passes without a touchdown or interception.
“Listen, we just won,” Savage said. “The headline should be about [Watson], not about this bullcrap.”
