Party cut short
Houston goes from celebrating World Series win to lamenting loss of Watson
The sports gods can be sick bastards, granted. But how they’re fussing with Houston since September is beyond cruel.
Fist-pumping, ecstatic Houstonians couldn’t even celebrate the city’s first World Series baseball championship for a full day, when late yesterday afternoon they all collectively buckled from the gut-punching news that Houston Texans phenom Deshaun Watson — one of the most dazzling rookie quarterbacks the NFL has produced in a generation — tore an ACL on a routine, noncontact pitchout at practice, NFL Network first reported.
An MRI confirmed the initial diagnosis, multiple reports said, and Watson is done for the season. This, just two days after the NFL’s trade deadline.
The former Clemson University mega-star only four days earlier became the first NFL quarterback since the 1970 merger to throw 19 TDs in his first seven games. With that number he is tied for the league lead in TD passes at the season’s midway point, with Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz.
Although Watson played in a college-style shotgunspread attack at Clemson, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien incorporated enough elements of it to empower the 22-yearold to reach historic successes after only two months as a pro.
Selected 12th overall in last April’s draft, Watson has played better and become more prolific practically by the week. Over Houston’s past four games he threw 16 touchdown passes, far more than anyone else in the league in that span.
This past Sunday, Watson scorched Seattle’s proud, normally stout defence by becoming the first player in NFL history with at least 400 passing yards (402), four TD throws (four) and 50 rushing yards (67) in a single game. That game was his fourth straight with at least three TD passes and a minimum 100.0 passer rating, something no NFL rookie had ever accomplished. This Sunday he could have become just the fifth NFLer ever to do as much in five consecutive games.
Thus, Watson’s loss is an enormous blow to a Texans franchise that had frantically experimenting with and discarding bum quarterbacks all decade long. Only the Cleveland Browns have started more quarterbacks since just 2012 (12) than Houston’s 10.
Tom Savage — who started at QB and failed embarrassingly in Week 1 for the Texans, before Watson replaced him at halftime and sparkled thereafter — will start again for Houston in its home game on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Matt McGloin likely will be signed as Savage’s emergency backup, NFL Network reported. McGloin played for Texans head coach Bill O’Brien in his first season as Joe Paterno’s successor at Penn State, 2012-13.
The Texans already had lost probably their two best defensive players in the same game early last month, just weeks after enduring historic floods that ravaged the: threetime NFL defensive playerof-the-year J.J. Watt and edge rusher Whitney Marcellus.
The Houston defence lost for the season a third defensive linemen: end Christian Covington of Vancouver — with a biceps tear.
After news broke in the 5 o’clock hour in the East, not just teammates and rival NFL players but stars in many sports immediately took to Twitter to share their shock, sorrow and best wishes for the universally likeable Watson, a young man who donated his first pro cheque to a pair of Texans-headquarters cafeteria workers who lost everything in Hurricane Harvey flooding.
NBA star LeBron James: “This seriously just made me sad man!! Get well and stronger asap @ deshaunwatson!!”
Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater, who blew apart a knee even worse 15 months ago and is close to returning: “Been overcoming adversity your entire life & never lost faith once. The battle is already won, claim ur victory, born winner.”
Seattle DE Frank Clark: “Damn, man, helluva competitor! I spoke highly of you my dog!!”
Teammate J.J. Watt: “Minor setback for a major comeback. We’ve all seen what’s possible, can’t wait to see what’s next. With you every step of the way (No. ) 4.”