ELLINGTON HAS BIG GAME.
Texans QB Watson sharp with a 131.8 passer rating in limited outing against San Francisco
Deshaun Watson calmly delivered a strike Saturday night to Bruce Ellington, serving notice that his arm and his surgically repaired right knee are ready for the rigors of the NFL regular season.
The Texans’ dynamic quarterback looked sharp against the San Francisco 49ers during a 16-13 victory at NRG Stadium in his most extensive action of the preseason.
Watson connected with Ellington on a quick 1-yard slant pass for a touchdown on fourth down to cap an 11-play, 79-yard scoring drive during the first quarter.
Before Watson was replaced by backup quarterback Brandon Weeden, he produced an impressive performance that was reminiscent of last year prior to injuring his knee. Watson made several crisp throws, displaying timing with his downfield targets and trust in his knee.
Watson completed 5 of 8 passes for 73 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He finished the game with a 131.8 passer rating.
“It felt good just to be in a liveaction game and be able to toss the ball around a little bit and be able to get my feet wet just a little bit,” Watson said. “It was a good drive for us.”
In particular, Watson found Ellington all over the field.
Watson’s biggest play was a short pass over the middle that Ellington turned into a 37-yard catch-and-run.
“We wanted to start fast,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “I thought he did a nice job of that. He went down the field. He was 5for-8, but I think he had three drops on the drive. I thought he did some nice things. We were able to play with a pretty good tempo and get in the end zone. That was good.”
Watson completed three passes to Ellington for 44 yards. Ellington also dropped one pass during the drive, finishing the game with four reception for 50 yards.
“Bruce is a guy who makes sure that he is open,” Watson said. “He does everything to secure the ball and put me in position to make an easy throw and no defender is around. He catches the ball with strong hands and gets yards after the catch. Bruce is very smart. He’s doing a great job for us.”
On the touchdown pass, Watson threaded it to Ellington in between 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster and safety Jaquiski Tartt.
“It was a Cover 3 by the San Fran defense,” Watson said. “Bruce was ready and I just gave him the ball.”
Watson had a 22-yard completion to veteran tight end Ryan Griffin.
Garoppolo also shines
Before Watson injured his knee during his rookie season, he transformed the Texans into the highest-scoring offense in the NFL.
Watson and the Texans were averaging 34.7 points per game during his six starts. He was having a Pro Bowl-caliber season and was on pace to throw 43 touchdown passes before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament.
“He’s just a guy that won’t quit,” Ellington said. “He doesn’t fear anything. It’s very important because he’s our leader. When he’s out there doing that, we follow.”
The passing connection Watson has built with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has the All-Pro selection extremely enthused.
“The possibilities, what we can do is limitless, not just him and myself, but this whole team,” Hopkins said prior to the game. “He runs this whole team and he does a great job.”
Watson has made a full recovery from his knee injury. His multidimensional skill and work ethic are encouraging to Hopkins. So is their budding chemistry. “The way he studies and our communication on the field, we’re always talking in between reps about what we can do better,” Hopkin said. “So, that’s something that he’s always had, but just something that he’s improved on — just us communicating and trying to get better reps.”
Jacksonville Jaguars Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey recently said that Watson has the capability to be a Most Valuable Player.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Hopkins said. “Deshaun has a lot to work on, but it’s a team sport. So we have to go out and win games for anything to happen.”
Watson wasn’t the only impressive quarterback on the field Saturday night.
Signed to a $137.5 million contract extension during the offseaon after being traded from the New England Patriots last season, 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo looks like a wise investment.
Garoppolo completed 10 of 12 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 107.0 passer rating before being replaced by backup C.J. Beathard.
Garoppolo completed a 40yard pass to speedy wide receiver Marquise Goodwin during the first quarter with Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson suffering a concussion on the play when he landed on the side of his head. Johnson was ruled out for the remainder of the game under the NFL concussion protocol.
Seven plays later, Garoppolo threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Trent Taylor as the wide receiver beat cornerback Aaron Colvin over the middle in the back of the end zone for the score.
Replacing Johnson, former Patriots cornerback Johnson Bademosi picked off a deflected Garoppolo pass.
In relief of Watson, Weeden completed 7 of 15 passes for 50 yards.
Texans rookie wide receiver Vyncint Smith, an undrafted free agent from Division II Limestone College, caught a last-minute 41yard TD pass from third quarterback Joe Webb to win the game.
“Great job by Vyncint making a big play, great job by the offensive line giving me time,” said Webb, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception and rushed for 22 yards on four carries. “That’s the way you want to end it. That was very big for him.
“I stayed with him the whole game, kept at it. He’s a young guy. I made sure he kept his poise. He did that at the end.”
Rookie Reid makes 6 tackles
Rookie outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor started for the second week in a row with Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus held out again.
The Alief Taylor graduate made a tackle on special teams and finished the half with three tackles, including one for a loss.
A fifth-round draft pick from Wake Forest, Ejiofor had three quarterback hits during the Texans’ 17-10 preseason victory over the Kansas City Chiefs a week ago during his NFL debut. Ejiofor missed the entire offseason while recuperating from shoulder surgery.
The 49ers were penalized twice during the first half for illegal helmet contact, a major officiating point of emphasis during the preseason.
Veteran referee Walt Anderson and his crew called 15 penalties for 140 yards against the 49ers with eight assessed against the Texans for 57 yards.
Starting his second NFL game with veteran Tyrann Mathieu held out as a precautionary measure, rookie safety Justin Reid recorded six tackles, including three solo stops.
The third-round draft pick from Stanford is competing for a starting job with veteran Kareem Jackson holding the edge for now.
During the second half, Texans wide receiver Sammie Coates suffered a concussion and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
A special-teams standout, Coates caught three passes for 32 yards before getting hurt.
Besides Clowney and Mercilus, multiple key players didn’t play in this game.
That included star defensive end J.J. Watt, safety Mathieu, inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney, nose tackle D.J. Reader, cornerback Johnathan Joseph and wide receivers Hopkins and Will Fuller.
O’Brien has emphasized that he’s getting what he’s looking for from veteran players during practice sessions.