Watson leads Texans past Bengals
CINCINNATI — Deshaun Watson ran 49 yards for a touchdown in his first NFL start and led the Houston Texans’ depleted offense to a late clinching field goal in a 13-9 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night.
Watson showed up in a black tuxedo for his first NFL start — it was his 22nd birthday, no less — and showed the flash that helped him lead Clemson to a national title. He avoided the rush and ran 49 yards for a 10-3 lead late in the first half, dashing past befuddled defenders.
The Texans (1-1) got the most out of their depleted offense, and then let their defense do the rest. The Bengals (0-2) have failed to score a touchdown in their two games to open a season for the first time in their 50 seasons.
Watson led a 13-play drive that set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 42-yard field goal with 1:56 left. The Bengals got the ball two more times, but failed to cross midfield.
Cincinnati lost to the Ravens 20-0 at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, the first time in their history that they opened the season blanked at home. Andy Dalton threw four interceptions and lost a fumble.
The Bengals managed only three field goals by Randy Bullock on Thursday.
Watson directed an offense missing three tight ends because of concussions, along with receiver Will Fuller V and guard Jeff Allen. The Texans kept it simple, and Watson avoided the game-turning mistake despite heavy pressure from the Bengals.
Watson was 15 of 24 for 125 yards and no interceptions. He ran five times for 67 yards.
The Bengals became the first team that opened the season with five scoreless quarters since the 2009 Rams, who went 1-15, according to ESPN Stats.
RATINGS: According to Nielsen data, the overall audience for the first week’s games was down 13 percent over last season, when interest in the 2016 presidential election campaign was blamed for cutting into numbers.
NFL ratings are being watched carefully by media companies and Wall Street analysts to determine whether last year’s 8 percent downturn in audience over the full season was a blip or if changing viewing habits are taking a toll on what is television’s biggest and most-durable ratings franchise.
This weekend, the NFL was competing with extended coverage of Hurricane Irma, a deadly storm that engulfed the Caribbean and the entire state of Florida. The extraordinary circumstance puts off any determination on whether the ratings are on a downward trend for another week.
GIANTS: Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. practiced Thursday on a limited basis for the first time since spraining his left ankle more than three weeks ago.
The three-time Pro Bowler took part in some individualized drills and followed that by participating in some team drills in preparation for Monday night’s home opener against the Detroit Lions.
Beckham believes he is making progress, but he said his injury has a recovery time that could last two months, or even longer.
RAVENS: Baltimore placed running back Danny Woodhead on injured reserve with a hamstring injury Thursday.