HOUSTON – Standing at his locker, Xavier Hutchinson processed a successful season and a painful ending.
On the heels of a crushing AFC divisional round playoff game loss to the New England Patriots, the squad representing the AFC in the Super Bowl on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the Texans are at a crossroads as a franchise.
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They have reached this stage of the playoffs three years in row under the leadership of coach DeMeco Ryans. They lost each time and are now 0-7 all-time in the divisional round.
What it will take to make the necessary improvements across the team, especially on offense, remains a fluid process. What isn’t in doubt is players like Hutchinson having a strong resolve to take the next step. The Texans, who rebounded from an 0-3 start, will need that and significant improvement on offense to do so. Especially after five turnovers, including four interceptions from quarterback C.J. Stroud in the loss to New England.
“No one really believed in us when we started 0-3, so just to get this far from having to go through all of that adversity in the beginning, that’s a process that you gotta enjoy,” Hutchinson told KPRC 2. “You gotta find the positive and the bright lights within the season. Of course, we didn’t end the season the way we wanted to with losing yesterday, but that’s all part of the journey.
“You gotta take your lumps before you can get your wins. I believe in this organization. I believe in this team, the coaching staff. We will get over the hump one day. And I feel like it’ll be rather sooner rather than later.”
Stroud had five fumbles and five interceptions in the playoffs, and is the only quarterback in NFL history to have those negative statistical totals.
Although Stroud has endured heavy criticism for his shortcomings in the playoffs, but the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has the support of the Texans’ locker room.
One of Stroud’s interceptions occurred because the football ricocheted off of Hutchinson’s hands and was picked off by safety Craig Woodson.
“It’s football, of course when you’re the quarterback, you’re gonna get singled out a lot of times,” Hutchinson said. “It’s rightfully or not rightfully fair. They love to build you up and then break you down. So, it’s not all on him. It’s on us, too. We’re gonna have Seven’s back. We’re gonna ride for him.
“C.J. is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It wasn’t the best game for a lot of us, man, but that’s just how the ball goes sometimes. He knows what he can do. It’s all about us just playing ball and really just capitalizing on the opportunities that we got.”
The Texans had just 242 yards of total offense and averaged 3.3 yards per play. The five turnovers included a crucial lost fumble by rookie running back Woody Marks.
“You just can’t turn over the ball, kind of dug ourselves a hole, just got to play better,” Hutchinson said. “We need to take the next step, which is not beat ourselves. You can’t beat yourself in the playoffs.”
As disappointing as the playoff game was to Hutchinson and the entire organization, progress was made last season.
Hutchinson emerged as a reliable presence and had his most productive season as a pro.
He caught a career-high 35 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns on 57 targets in 17 games with six starts. He now has 55 career catches for 635 yards and 30 first downs on 102 targets.
“Nobody talks about Hutch, but nobody has improved more from the time he was drafted to where he is now,” Texans general manager Nick Caserio said of the former sixth-round draft pick from Iowa State. “He’s become one of our most dependable players.”
Hutchinson is heading into the final year of his rookie deal. Ideally, he’d love to be in Houston on a long-term basis.
“We’ll see what happens,” Hutchinson said. “That would be cool.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com