HOW TEXANS HAVE FOUND THEIR MOJO AND A HERO
Rookie quarterback Watson shows he is the leader Texans have needed.
The Texans have found HOUSTON — their mojo.
Even better, they found a quarterback, the person who’s largely responsible for it. Funny how that works.
It may be premature to say after just three games, but it appears Houston’s long-lost search for a quarterback may finally be over. Deshaun Watson’s got it all.
Talent. Smarts. Humility. Athleticism. Confidence of his teammates. And the starting job.
Heck, he even graciously donated a game’s check of roughly $29,000 to three female NRG Stadium cafeteria workers who lost their homes to Hurricane Harvey. When he leaped into the stands after a touchdown, it’s a wonder they gave him back.
As teammate Lamar Miller said of Watson, “He just has swag.”
Of course, he wasn’t exactly in hiding. Houston found Watson in
the likeliest of places. Playing in back-to-back national championship games at Clemson and winning one. And management felt he had the right stuff to do the same at this level, trading up to nab him with the 12th pick of the first round last spring.
Not that Houston’s brain-mistrust hasn’t been searching for a while now. Watson became the
ninth quarterback to start for the Texans since 2014 and, in fact, if he hasn’t developed so quickly into the savior of this team, head coach Bill O’Brien’s reputation as a quarterback whisperer might have completed evaporated. Either that or the Brock Osweilers and Ryan Malletts of the NFL world were just deaf to his musings.
But Watson is probably here to stay as the hottest rookie quarterback in a league that’s been chock full of them the last couple of seasons.
On Sunday he was showered with a standing ovation from the NRG Stadium crowd of 71,804 after producing five touchdowns in a 57-14 blowout of a decent Tennessee Titans team, scoring the most points in franchise history. And, of course, setting in motion a buzz about a seemingly predestined hero on the order of an Earl Campbell or a Hakeem Olajuwon in this city.
As an appreciative Texans defensive terror J.J. Watt said, “If they want to score 57 points every week, that’s fine with me.”
How good were the Texans? Well, they ran 78 plays to the Titans’ 41, held the ball for almost 191/2 minutes longer than the visitors and put up 445 yards and 33 first downs to Tennessee’s 195 yards and nine first downs.
That may be the new norm because Houston’s now totaled 90 points in the past two games and is probably the most dangerous 2-2 team in the league. Watson looks so natural on this stage, so calm, so fearless. Has he for a second been overwhelmed?
“Never,” former Longhorn running back D’Onta Foreman said. “He’s played in so many big games, no moment is too big for him.”
Watson wasn’t good enough to start the opener. Tom Savage did those honors for his third career NFL start although he was promptly benched at halftime. And next Sunday night’s prime-time matchup between Houston and Kansas City is shaping up as a battle for rookie of the year honors between Watson and the Chiefs’ running back phenom Kareem Hunt.
Houston suddenly has a new face of the franchise. And it comes with a strong arm and a quick release. And swift legs that allow Watson to move around in the pocket and extend plays. And a brain that processes information quickly.
He’s even running college-style option plays to give the offense added versatility. Throw in the return of talented wide receiver Will Fuller to go with a resurrected DeAndre Hopkins — who had 10 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown — as well as the one-two punch with running backs Miller and Foreman, and the Texans are looking like an offensive force.
Heck, they scored on their first five possessions of the game and nine of 12 overall.
Houston’s latest scoring rampage is unheard of in the conservative, cookie-cutter NFL. At this rate, Houston is fast becoming the Alabama of the NFL. In fact, it seemed reasonable to ask Watson which opponent he’s faced represented the bigger challenge, the Titans or the Crimson Tide.
“I’ll say Tennessee,” Watson said, “just because it’s an NFL team.”
If he says so. But remember Watson came within an eyeblink of beating Alabama twice, too.
The Texans may well be on their way to duplicating what has occurred at that other franchise in the state. Watson may do for Houston what Dak Prescott did for the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, Watson’s got the benefit of an actual elite defense, something the Cowboys haven’t developed.
Even Texans owner Bob McNair was having difficulty not being swept away by Sunday’s events.
“I think we’ve got a little offense now,” he said.
‘If they want to score 57 points ever week, that’s fine with me.’ J.J. Watt Texans defensive end