Texans DE Jerry Hughes: Tie With Colts 'An Opportunity to Learn'
When the Houston Texans punted the ball towards the end of overtime against the Indianapolis Colts, leading to a 20-20 tie between the two teams, there was some confusion as to why the Texans elected not to go for it on 4th down and go for the win.
While some fans and analysts disagreed with the decision to "settle" for a tie, the players are on the same page with their coach. Defensive end Jerry Hughes spoke on the decision to play for the tie and advocated for coach Lovie Smith's decision.
“I agree with Coach,” Hughes said. "It’s going to give us a great opportunity to learn. The new overtime rules were put into effect this evening, so that gives us another opportunity to learn how to play in the fifth quarter there."
"For us it’s just all about finishing. It’s something that Coach preached all training camp, and we’ve still got to figure out a way to do that.”
Of course, the decision to play for the tie would not have come to fruition had the Texans not given up a 17-point fourth-quarter lead. However, when a team is undergoing a rebuild like the Texans are, growing pains are to be expected.
Moving forward, as Hughes said, this will serve as an opportunity for the Texans to grow as a team. The best way to prevent a situation where a tie could occur is, simply put, gaining and maintaining leads.
That, of course, is easier said than done for a Texans team that is still finding themselves in a rebuild.
Sunday was a learning experience for the team, one that should manifest itself later down the road when similar situations occur.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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