Fierce attack
Texans’ offense clicks on all cylinders en route to a 42-point outing.
Houston fans should be thankful Brock Osweiler did not play better in 2016 or the Texans would not have Deshaun Watson.
After playing hurt the last two games with a partially collapsed lung and a broken rib, Watson recovered and put on an incredible performance Thursday night, treating a national television audience to five touchdown passes and leading the Texans to a 42-23 victory over Osweiler and the Miami Dolphins at NRG Stadium.
The Texans generated 427 yards on offense, scored four touchdowns on four trips into the red zone, increased their winning streak to five games and elevated their record to 5-3.
“Five-and-0 is a hell of a lot better than 0-3,” J.J. Watt said after recording his eighth sack. “Nobody in here panicked when we were 0-3. We put in the work and kept doing our jobs. We have a good grasp on that.
“That’s how we can get to where we want to go.”
Coach Bill O’Brien has done a terrific job of helping his team overcome the 0-3 start and build the winning streak. Against Miami, O’Brien had his best game as a play-caller this season. He and Watson collaborated on some big-time plays that created chaos on the Miami defense.
Watson was not sacked for the first time in his two seasons with the Texans and did not throw an interception for the second consecutive game.
Watson, who was 16-of-20 passing for 239 yards and a rating of 156.0, distributed his touchdowns to three players. DeAndre Hopkins and rookie tight end Jordan Thomas each caught two, and Will Fuller had one. Fuller left the game with a knee injury that could be serious.
Watson outplayed Osweiler, who started the last three games for the Dolphins in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill. He completed 21 of 37 pases for 241 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. His rating was 65.3.
The Texans’ offensive line did an outstanding job. Watson has been sacked once in the last two games. Besides keeping Watson clean, the linemen helped the running game total 188 yards, including 133 by Lamar Miller, who also contributed a touchdown.
“It starts with the running game,” Watson said. “The O-line has been doing a great job (blocking) for the running game.
“Our guys were up to the challenge. When we’re all on the same page, our offense can be explosive.”
The offense was so explosive against the Dolphins that it produced seven touchdowns and did not give Ka’imi Fairbairn a chance to attempt a field goal.
Watson did a tremendous job of utilizing just about all his weapons.
With Ryan Griffin missing a second consecutive game because of an illness, Thomas stepped up on national television. Thomas, a sixth-round pick from Mississippi State, caught both of his touchdown passes in the red zone.
After the Texans allowed their second rushing touchdown of the season on Kenyan Drake’s 12-yard run and Miller responded with his 5-yard scoring run, the Texans got an early break.
Justin Reid intercepted Osweiler and returned it 21 yards to the Miami 16. After an Alfred Blue 3-yard run, O’Brien made a splendid play call. Watson faked a handoff to Blue and found Thomas alone at the goal line for a 13-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 lead.
Thomas scored his second touchdown on the first series of the third quarter. Miller’s 58-yard run to the 9 was the big play. O’Brien went for it on fourthand-goal at the 2. Watson moved around until he found Thomas in the end zone for the touchdown that boosted the lead to 21-10.
Miller, the Miami native who left the Dolphins for the Texans in 2016, posted back-to-back 100-yard games for the first time since he came to Houston.
Miller, who scored the first touchdown on a 2-yard run, ran for 100 yards in the victory at Jacksonville. He had 124 during the first series of the third quarter after he broke free on the 58-yard run.
The Texans’ defense did not dominate the Dolphins the way it did in the last three victories over Dallas, Buffalo and Jacksonville.
Losing cornerback Johnathan Joseph (ankle) and inside linebacker Zach Cunningham (knee) in the first half took a toll on a defense that allowed one touchdown in each of the three previous games. Joseph (ankle) and Cunningham (knee) forced changes at two key positions. Cunningham entered the game as the team’s leading tackler.
Amazingly, Joseph became the fifth cornerback the Texans have lost in their first seven games, following Kevin Johnson, Aaron Colvin, Kayvon Webster and Shareece Wright.
Rookie Peter Kalambayi, an outside linebacker, played inside next to Benardrick McKinney and made some superb plays before leaving with a concussion.
Safety Natrell Jamerson, claimed on waivers at the start of the season, was forced to play cornerback. Safety Mike Tyson, signed early this month, saw extension action, too.
Jamerson had a fumble return for a touchdown wiped out by instant replay in the second quarter. Linebacker Josh Keyes hit Osweiler, forcing an apparent fumble that Jamerson picked up and ran in for a 19-yard touchdown.
League officials in New York ruled it an incomplete pass because Osweiler’s arm was moving forward. The ruling left the Texans with a 14-10 halftime lead.
The Texans got the ball to start the third quarter.
It looked as if Watson had a 9-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Ervin, but it was rubbed out by a penalty on guard Greg Mancz, ineligible man downfield.
It didn’t matter, though. Watson’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Thomas gave them a touchdown, anyway, to make it 21-10 with 11:34 left in the third quarter.
The Dolphins refused to crater. Coach Adam Gase tried some trickery that worked to perfection. Osweiler lateraled to Danny Amendola, who threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Drake to pull Miami within 21-17.
At that point, Watson was just heating up. He continued to get excellent protection from his offensive line. From the pocket, he found Fuller streaking across the field and down the right sideline for what turned into a 73-yard touchdown.
The Dolphins responded with a Jason Sanders field goal. Then Gase gambled again, and it backfired.
Gase called for an onside kick that Keyes covered at the Miami 49. Two plays later, Watson got outstanding protection again after a play-fake and a fake on an end around. He threw to Hopkins wide open on the right side, and he outran the Dolphins for a 49-yard touchdown and a 35-20 lead just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The Texans scored one more touchdown on Watson’s 2-yard pass to Hopkins to put the game out of reach.