Bill O'Brien downplays heated exchange with QB Brock Osweiler

HOUSTON -- Texans head coach Bill O'Brien minimized the significance of an argument he had with quarterback Brock Osweiler at halftime of Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

"Look, I think that it's an intense game," O'Brien said. "It's football. You've got competitive guys, passionate guys about the team, about winning, especially quarterback-head coach. If there was a what you would term a 'heated exchange,' that happens all the time. I'm not sure what you're referring to. Those things happen."

Osweiler entered Sunday's game early in the second quarter after starting quarterback Tom Savage left the game with a concussion. Savage did briefly return for one play, when he took a knee to end the half, but he was re-evaluated at halftime and ruled out for the rest of the game.

O'Brien named Osweiler the starting quarterback on Tuesday and said Wednesday that Savage was still in the concussion protocol and would not play in Saturday's home playoff game against the Oakland Raiders.

Osweiler would not elaborate on the halftime exchange when asked about it on Wednesday.

"What happens between Coach O'Brien and myself or whatever's said between Coach O'Brien and myself, it stays between us," Osweiler said. "That's where I'm going to leave that. My focus has moved toward Oakland."

Earlier this season, CBS Sports reported that O'Brien and Osweiler had a "heated exchange" following a quarterbacks meeting while reviewing film of the Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, after Osweiler had objections to the playcalling.

When asked about it that week, O'Brien called the report the "biggest nonstory of the year" and said it's a side effect of coaching in an intense environment. At the time, Osweiler said, "The interactions that have occurred between Coach O'Brien and myself, or even Coach [George] Godsey [Houston's offensive coordinator] and myself, for that matter, are nothing out of the norm."

O'Brien has gotten loud with his quarterbacks in the past, including a publicized spat in December 2011, during which New England Patriots quarterbackTom Brady had to be separated from O'Brien, then the Pats' offensive coordinator, on the sidelines during a win over theWashington Redskins.

The argument stemmed from a Brady interception.

"I threw a pretty bad interception, and he wasn't happy about it," Brady said at the time. "There are probably a long line of coaches and players that were pretty pissed at me after that, but Billy got to me first. He let me have it, and I deserved it."