Watson Shines, Texans Get 1st Win on Thursday Night Football

CINCINNATI, OH —J.J. Watt took a few hours from raising over $34 million for the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and played a football game. He was spectacular, recording 5 tackles, including a ferocious hit on the Bengals’ center Russell Bodine to end the game.

I think that Watt is one of the most exciting defensive players to watch in the National Football League, along with Oakland Raiders’ stud Khalil Mack and the Broncos’ star rusher Von Miller, but he has never had a quarterback that can take Houston on a long postseason run.

Here is a list of quarterbacks that have played for the Texans since Watt was drafted in 2011: Matt Schaub, T.J. Yates, Matt Leinart, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, Tom Savage, Brock Osweiler, and now Deshaun Watson. Yikes.

Who is the best of that group? Fitzy had an okay season for the Texans, Savage sucks, and Osweiler is back in Denver after 1 season. It’s clearly Watson, and he’s only two games into his NFL career.

Which brings me to my next point: I think Deshaun Watson can take this Texans team to the playoffs, and here’s why:

1. The Texans play in the abysmal AFC South, where the defenses are subpar and the offenses are just okay enough to lose at the end of the game. Blake Bortles will continue to keep the Jaguars irrelevant in Jacksonville, while the Titans higher expectations under QB Marcus Mariota are in my estimation another year away.
2. The Colts are in the AFC South: Do I have to explain further? Andrew Luck’s health is still in flux, and young, unproven Jacoby Brissett will be their Week 2 starter.
3. The Texans’ defense is still stellar, but has suffered some recent losses-Vince Wilfork retired in the offseason, and CB Johnathan Joseph sustained a shoulder injury in Thursday’s game. Their next few opponents include the Patriots on the road, and the Titans and Chiefs, and then the Browns at home before their Week 7 Bye. They can expect a heavy passing attack from all teams.

Back to Watson, I am straight up impressed with this kid’s potential in the NFL. Thursday night in Cincy, Watson was 15/24 for 125 yards and added on 5 rushing attempts for 67 yards, one being the spectacular 49 yard dash to paydirt.

Watson reminds me of Titans’ QB Marcus Mariota. He played in a high-powered offense in college, (won) the national championship game against a powerhouse football program (Alabama), and has incredible mobility in the pocket.  

Hopefully we do not see him turning into a Manziel-type debacle where he runs around and cannot decipher his playbook because he was too busy partying the night before. Coach Bill O’Brien will keep him dedicated to his playbook, and this burst of speed and flash is not a Kaepernick-like run of one Super Bowl run. My prediction is he continues to dazzle, leading to a big contract and NFL free agency comes after that. That’s how sold I am on this kid.  Bottom line, Texans fans should be unbelievably excited to have finally found a true playmaker under center.

Written by David Chase