Brock Osweiler said he wasn't nervous heading into his first regular season start as a Houston Texan.
And the quarterback attributed his calm to somebody else. 52 others, to be exact.
"I was very confident in this football team," Osweiler said. "I know what this football team is capable of doing, and it's because I see it on a daily basis."
He shook off a first quarter interception that ended the Texans' opening drive, and wound up completing 22-of-35 passes for 231 yards in the 23-14 win over Chicago. He also tossed touchdown passes to
DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, and was able to stay positive despite the early miscue.
"You can't live and die on one play," Osweiler said. "It's always 'Play the next play. Play the next play,' no matter what happened on that previous one, you gotta forget about it and move forward. That's really what we did as an offense and as a team tonight."
He guided the Texans offense on a pair of second quarter scoring drives, with the first culminating in a 28-yard field goal by Nick Novak. The second finished up with the Hopkins' scoring strike, as the wide receiver made an acrobatic catch for a 23-yard score.
"I thought Brock made some throws there that we had to have, which was really good to see," head coach Bill O'Brien said.
In the second half, he connected with Fuller on an 18-yard screen that ended in the end zone, and also took the Texans down the field for two more Novak field goal drives.
"We made the big plays when we needed to," Osweiler said of the offense, which controlled the time of possession. The Texans held the ball for 36:19, while the Bears had it for just 23:41.
Osweiler impressed team founder, chairman and CEO Bob McNair, as well.
"I think he's everything that we thought he would be," McNair said. "He performed under pressure. Several times he escaped a sack, one time for a long gain when he ran the ball, and he completed some passes after being pressured like that. He has good composure, he's poised and can perform under pressure, and that's what you want."
Osweiler and the Texans will host the Chiefs next Sunday at NRG Stadium.
Check out the best photos throughout the Texans first regular season game vs. the Bears.
