DOWN BY NON- CONTACT
Texans lose rookie Watson, but those close to him shrug it off
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — In an NFL season with new controversy or drama every week, Deshaun Watson was a refreshing change of pace. For some fans, otherwise disenchanted, he was a reason to still watch.
That’s what made Thursday’s news so jarring, that the sensational rookie quarterback for the Houston Texans had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a non- contact drill at practice. Watson is done for the season.
The development hit hard in Watson’s hometown, where diehard University of Georgia fans once did the unthinkable, donning Clemson orange, in honor of their beloved football icon.
From the halls of Gainesville High, Watson’s alma mater, to the jam- packed tables of the Longstreet Cafe, his favorite hangout for home cooking, his supporters had watched every snap of his dizzying ascent.
For many of them, Thursday landed with a thud. For others, including those who know Watson best, it’s just another opportunity to watch him rebound.
“He’ll come back,” said his aunt, Sonia Watson, subdued but sure of her words. “I talked to him a little while ago. He said he was OK. Maybe this was just a test.”
This isn’t life or death. Players routinely come back from this type of knee injury, as Watson did after sustaining a torn ACL in his other knee in college. But it’s a gut
EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J. — There was one team that looked like a playoff contender Thursday night. It wasn’t the Buffalo Bills.
Buffalo’s pursuit of AFC East kingpin New England was stymied by the New York Jets, who controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides in a 34- 21 win that never was close in the second half.
Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns four days after complaining the Jets didn’t run the ball enough, and an overwhelming defense sacked Tyrod Taylor seven times.
“We played to what we do best,” Forte said. “Our offensive line likes to come off the line straight ahead and hit guys in the mouth and wear guys out like that. I think we started to wear them out as the game went on, and you saw some runs pop here and there.”
Buffalo ( 5- 3) came in having scored 64 points in its last two wins, but self- destructed with turnovers and miscues. New York ( 4- 5) ended a three- game slide in which it held leads in each defeat.
“We’ve got a high ceiling,” defensive tackle Leonard Williams said. “We showed we can get takeaways, we showed we can get sacks, we showed we can stop the run. This is our f irst game putting it all together in a complete game. I feel like now that we showed it and put in on film, we’ll definitely challenge ourselves to keep progressing.”
Forte scored on runs of 10 and f ive yards and had 14 carries for 77 yards. Augmenting that was Bilal Powell with a 51- yard burst and 74 yards in nine carries. Quarterback Josh McCown got in on the fun with a 10yard scramble to open the scoring, and New York rushed for 194 yards overall.
Jordan Jenkins had two of the Jets’ sacks as they never allowed Buffalo’s offense to get on track.
Indeed, mistakes were the Bills’ trademark.
“We came into their house and they just outplayed us,” Taylor said. “They were really aggressive today and played to their strengths.
“We have to stop the negative plays. Tonight we had turnovers on offense and that’s not our style of play.”
The Jets came in with 11 sacks, which was last among teams that had played eight games.