Crennel: Tried to put game away with 2-point try

Although it has been just two games, as Houston Texans interim head coach, Romeo Crennel has shown a desire to be aggressive when trying to put away games.

So when the Texans scored to take a 36-29 lead with 1 minute and 50 seconds to go and a chance to make it a two-possession game against an undefeated team, he went for it.

According to ESPN’s win probability calculator, the Texans had a 98.2% chance to win if they kicked the extra point, and 98.1% chance to win if they went for two.

It didn’t work — quarterback Deshaun Watson’s pass to Randall Cobb was incomplete — and the Titans got the ball back down seven points with 1 minute and 45 seconds remaining. Tennessee scored a touchdown with 4 seconds left and only needed an extra point to force overtime. The Texans lost the coin toss, and the Titans marched down the field, eventually winning 42-36.

“I wanted to go ahead and get the two points,” Crennel said. “It felt like that would kind of put it out of reach for them and if we would have gotten it, we would have been in much better shape. As it turned out, we didn’t get it, and then with the touchdown and the extra point they tied it up, and we were in overtime.”

Aside from going for two in that situation, Crennel has also been aggressive on fourth down. In Week 5, wide receiver Brandin Cooks caught a touchdown on fourth down that put the game away. On the touchdown that led to the two-point conversion on Sunday, Crennel went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line instead of settling for a field goal to make it a four-point game.

The Texans have scored a touchdown on fourth down in each of their past three games (two under Crennel, one under Bill O’Brien), including two on Sunday against the Titans. They had two such touchdowns all of last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

After the game, defensive end J.J. Watt was asked if he thought Crennel’s call showed a lack of confidence in the defense.

“That’s above my pay grade,” Watt said.

Watt was then asked if he liked the call to go for two points.

“That’s above my pay grade,” Watt said. “I don’t know what you’re supposed to do there. I don’t know.”

Texans safety Justin Reid said he doesn’t “feel bad about it at all.”

“We wanted to win the game, and I support that aggressiveness,” Reid said. “It worked out for us last week. And had we converted on the two-point conversion, this would be a totally different conversation.”