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          Texans can't take next step without improved QB play in 2017

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          Clark says Osweiler's INTs doomed the Texans (1:25)

          Ryan Clark says that despite the Patriots playing unlike themselves in a 34-16 victory, it was Brock Osweiler's inaccuracy and three interceptions that were a huge factor in the Texans' loss. (1:25)

          • Sarah Barshop, ESPN Staff WriterJan 15, 2017, 09:30 AM ET
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              Sarah Barshop covers the Los Angeles Rams for ESPN. She joined ESPN in 2016 to cover the Green Bay Packers for ESPN Milwaukee. She then moved to Houston to cover the Texans. She came to ESPN after working as a writer and editor for Sports Illustrated. You can follow her on Twitter @sarahbarshop.
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          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Bill O’Brien made it clear after the Houston Texans' 34-16 loss to the New England Patriots on Saturday night: The offense has to get better next season.

          The Texans were led by their defense to a 9-7 regular-season record, a second straight AFC South championship and a playoff win. But for as well as the defense played Saturday, without a good quarterback and an improved offense, it's going to be hard for the Texans to become a championship team.

          “We have to play better offensively in order for us to get to where we need to be in this league with the defense that we have,” O’Brien said.

          “We’ve got to spend a lot of time this offseason soul searching," he added. "Everybody’s got to look in the mirror and see what we need to do better.”

          Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler went 23-of-40 for 198 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. The Patriots, who advanced to their sixth straight AFC Championship with the win, are among the elite teams the Texans want to compete with. But Saturday's loss, combined with the 27-0 blowout loss Houston suffered at Gillette Stadium in Week 3, show how far the Texans are from competing with the AFC’s best.

          A lot of that has to do with their inconsistency at quarterback. Osweiler has had games in which he has shown some promise -- including last week's first-round playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders -- but most of the season, he has shown he is not good enough to be the Texans’ starting quarterback. Even in the games in which he showed promise, his statistics and efficiency were average at best.

          “As an offense, we need to score more than 16 points,” O’Brien said. “You’re not going to beat the Patriots scoring 16 points.”

          The Texans made critical mistakes in each phase against the Patriots, but a good quarterback can help overcome that. On Saturday, Osweiler could not. Though the Texans were able to keep it close in the first half -- the Patriots led by just four points at halftime -- Osweiler’s second-half turnovers put the game out of reach.

          If Osweiler isn’t the answer for the Texans, they have to look elsewhere. The problem is, the answer has to be cheap.

          The four-year, $72 million contract Osweiler signed last offseason is not all guaranteed; the final guaranteed money comes next season. But Houston still owes Osweiler $16 million next year no matter what.

          “There’s going to be nobody that works harder this offseason to clean up our offensive issues and be better than we were coming up and in the future,” Osweiler said.

          Backup quarterback Tom Savage, who started the Texans’ final two regular-season games, did not impress in his limited body of work this season. While Savage completed 63 percent of his passes compared to Osweiler’s 59 percent, he failed to throw a touchdown pass and led the offense to just 12 points in his only full game, against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16.

          The Texans have some cap room but have several players they could sign to extensions, including wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and veteran left tackle Duane Brown, both of whom are free agents after the 2017 season. Cornerback A.J. Bouye is set for free agency after a career year, and Houston will likely make a concerted effort to keep him as well.

          The good news for the Texans is their defense could very easily get even better next season. Three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt should be back after two back surgeries in 2016, which will add to one of the league’s best front sevens. Former first-round pick Kevin Johnson will also return from foot surgery to help the cornerbacks. Outside of potentially losing Bouye in free agency, every other key defensive contributor is under contract for next season.

          But if the situation at quarterback doesn’t improve, Houston won’t be able to take the next step in 2017. The Texans have handicapped themselves with Osweiler’s contract and have little flexibility at the position. What they might do to address the position -- whether through the draft, in free agency or via a trade -- is uncertain.

          But what became even more apparent Saturday in New England is that while the defense is an elite unit, it cannot continue making up for its inefficiencies at quarterback and on offense overall.

          “You can’t have the offense where it’s at in this league and expect to win a championship,” O’Brien said. “So we’ve got to figure it out [and] we’ve got to improve.”