Rookie QB Watson shines in Texans’ loss to Panthers

Deshaun Watson reminded everyone why Panthers coach Ron Rivera — and many others — felt he should have won the Heisman Trophy last season.

Watson shined in his NFL preseason debut, completing 15 of 25 passes for 179 yards and running for a score in the Houston Texans’ 27-17 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday night.

Watson, who led Clemson to the ACC championship on this field last December en route to winning the national championship, received a rousing ovation from Tigers fans dressed in orange when he entered the game in the second quarter.

The cheers grew louder when Watson outran two defenders for a 15-yard touchdown — although Panthers fans tried to cover the celebration with boos.

“It was good just to get my feet wet,” said Watson, who was pleased with his overall effort.

Houston’s first-round draft pick looked comfortable in the pocket, stepping up to avoid pressure and getting rid of the football in a timely manner. He didn’t let penalties on his team affect him and didn’t turn the ball over in nearly three quarters of play.

“He’s a smart player, an instinctive player,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said.

“For the first game out there I thought he did some good things. That’s a big jump from college to the NFL and I thought he handled it pretty well.”

Tom Savage of Cardinal O’Hara went three-and-out on his first two possessions against Carolina’s first-team defense. Savage had better luck with Carolina’s starters out of the game, completing 8 of 8 passes for 67 yards on his final drive capped by a 16-yard TD run by Alfred Blue.

But it was a strong showing for Carolina’s defensive starters.