No problem in Houston
Watson throws five touchdowns, matching career high as Texans win fifth straight.
HOUSTON 42 MIAMI 23
HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson matched his career high with five touchdown passes to lead the Houston Texans to their fifth straight victory, a 42-23 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.
The Texans (5-3) have left their 0-3 start behind with their longest singleseason winning streak since reeling off six victories in a row in 2012.
Watson threw touchdown passes of 13, two, 73, 49 and two yards to give him 34 career scoring passes to move ahead of Dan Marino (32) for second-most in NFL history after 15 games.
Miami’s Brock Osweiler, who had one tough season in Houston after signing a $72million contract in 2016, threw for 241 yards with an interception in his third straight start in place of injured starter Ryan Tannehill. Kenyan Drake had a touchdown run and touchdown reception for the Dolphins (4-4). They lost for the second straight week.
Rookie Jordan Thomas caught the first two touchdown passes of his career, DeAndre Hopkins had 82 yards receiving and two scores, and Will Fuller added 124 yards receiving and a touchdown for Houston.
Texans running back Lamar Miller, who grew up in Miami and spent his first four seasons with the Dolphins, had 133 yards rushing and a touchdown for his second straight 100-yard game.
Houston led by eight when Watson threw a 49yard touchdown pass to Hopkins on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 35-20.
Watson found the speedy Fuller in front of the defense for a 73-yard touchdown that left Houston up 28-17 late in the third quarter. It was the longest touchdown pass of Watson’s career and the longest reception of Fuller’s. Fuller has caught 11 touchdown passes in 11 career games with Watson.
The Dolphins used a 41yard field goal to cut the lead to 28-20 with less than a minute left in the third quarter. That score came after a drive featuring a crazy 46yard pass by Osweiler. He threw the ball to Jakeem Grant, who lost it after being hit by two Texans defenders, but it sailed down the field and into the hands of DeVante Parker for the big gain.