WHY TEXANS ARE FINDING QB SITUATION COMPLICATED
Final-seconds fumble keeps New England from pulling off another comeback triumph in back-and-forth preseason game.
Cornerback Denzel Rice’s leaping sideline
interception and 39-yard return of a fourth-quarter Jimmy Garoppolo pass set up D’Onta Foreman’s winning 4-yard touchdown run in the Texans’ 27-23 seesaw victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots on Saturday night.
But it took Jacoby Brissett’s fumble, caused by free agent linebacker Ufomba Kamalu in the final seconds, to preserve the win and keep the Patriots from pulling off the second comeback triumph here in 2017. They, of course, rallied to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime to win Super Bowl LI in February.
Earlier, however, Tom Savage and Deshaun Watson once again seriously complicated Texans head coach Bill O’Brien’s life. At least they’re doing it in the best possible way.
Halfway through the preseason, Savage has done nothing to lose his job as the Texans’ starting quarterback. The fourth-year pro and former fourth-round draft choice is clearly showing himself to be the more polished passer. But Watson, the first-round draft choice coming off a national championship season at Clemson, has also done nothing to make people here and elsewhere stop believing he’s the future of
the franchise.
Savage, completing eight of his nine passes, threw for a touchdown and Watson ran for another in his first appearance at NRG Stadium, his new — and presumably longtime — home. The latter’s scoring play, although it also covered just 2 yards, allowed the Texans to reclaim the lead in the third quarter and showed how instinctive and athletic a runner he is, especially when he’s in sniffing distance of the goal line.
Selected 12th overall after the Texans traded their first two picks in 2018 to have the opportunity to get him there, Watson also sprinted 15 yards into the end zone in the Texans’ 27-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers in their preseason opener 10 days earlier.
Coming off a pair of combined practices before the Texans broke camp at The Greenbrier in West Virginia, both teams kept their game plans extra vanilla, with a regular-season rematch looming at NRG Stadium on Sept. 24. The Texans were additionally hindered by a dearth of proven NFL pass-catchers, which hurt Watson more than it did the at least modestly experienced Savage. The rookie was only 3-for-10 for 102 yards over his four series before Brandon Weeden took over late in the third quarter and finished the game.
Savage played two series, finding Jaelen Strong with a 2-yard scoring pass. Strong, starting his third season, has 28 of the 42 career catches by Texans receivers available Saturday night. The Texans held out DeAndre Hopkins and Braxton Miller with presumed minor injuries, and they had already, of course, lost Will Fuller to a broken collarbone.
The biggest play on Watson’s watch was a 63-yard catch-and-run by his fellow rookie Foreman that preceded the Watson touchdown that gave the Texans a 17-16 third-quarter lead. Foreman, the third-round pick from the University of Texas, again showed the kind of talent that made him a 2,000-yard rusher in his final college season.
He’d also broken free on a 41-yard run in the Carolina game, when he finished with 76 yards rushing.
In two starts totaling five possessions, Savage is 17-for20 for 167 yards and has presided over two touchdown drives. On his opening possession Saturday night, he marched the Texans from their 13 to the New England 8, where Lamar Miller was stopped well short of a first down on a 4th-and-6. But, obviously, had it been a regular-season game, Nick Novak would have been summoned to attempt the field goal.
Savage was sacked for a 7-yard loss on first down at the 12 following a 37-yard completion to Bruce Ellington, who spent his two previous NFL seasons returning punts and kickoffs for the San Francisco 49ers.
J.J. Watt, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, made his first appearance in front of Houston fans since last October a brief but rewarding one. His lone tackle on the one series he played resulted in a 2-yard loss — and one of the loudest roars of the night.
After an apparent Andre Hal interception on the first play of New England’s second possession was overruled by the replay official, Brady immediately turned back into the guy we know, the guy who led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit on this same field to beat Atlanta 34-31 in overtime, claiming his fifth Super Bowl ring.
New England rolled 75 yards in 10 plays in just 3:33, with Brady finishing the drive by flipping a short pass over the middle that running back Rex Burkhead turned into a 22-yard touchdown run.
A three-and-out by Watson followed, and Garoppolo, replacing Brady (6-for-9, 67 yards), got three points out of his first series with Stephen Gostkowski kicking a 38-yard field goal. Gostkowski later added a 51-yarder, finishing a 9-play, 40-yard drive that gave New England a 13-10 halftime lead, and a 42-yarder in the third quarter that extended it to 16-10.
Garoppolo, who also lost a fumble on a sack, rifled a 25-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Foster that put the Patriots ahead 23-16 before Rice’s pick and Foreman’s touchdown allowed the Texans to take the upper hand for good, although Brissett, who presided over New England’s 27-0 win in Foxborough during the 2016 regular season with Brady suspended and Garoppolo injured, moved them as close as the Houston 8 before his fumble skidded out of the end zone for a game-saving touchback.
Free-agent kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, brought in to challenge the incumbent Novak, contributed field goals of 31 and 35 yards, the latter providing the final margin of victory.
The Texans will practice at the Methodist Training Center on Monday and Tuesday before going to New Orleans for the rest of the week, practicing with the Saints on Thursday at their training facility, then playing a third preseason game there Saturday night. The Texans finish the preseason Aug. 31 against Dallas at NRG Stadium and open the regular season against Jacksonville on Sept. 10.