WAT’ A PLAYER!
Despite loss, Watson makes solving defenses look easy
THE Texans’ day began with many of them kneeling for the national anthem in Seattle in protest of owner Robert McNair’s comments likening NFL players to “inmates running the prison.” It ended with a 41-38 loss to the Seahawks on a
Richard Sherman interception following Russell Wilson’s touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 21 seconds to go. The three hours in between, though, were a
Deshaun Watson highlight film unlike any ever recorded by a rookie quarterback.
Watson shredded the Legion of Boom defense for 402 yards and four touchdowns, including 59and 20-yarders to Will Fuller V and a quick out to
DeAndre Hopkins that turned into a 71-yard, goahead score in the fourth quarter. Watson also ran for 67 yards, becoming the first in NFL history with at least 400 yards passing, four TDs and 50 yards rushing. He set other records, as well:
He became the first rookie to throw at least three TD passes in four consecutive games.
His 16 TD passes in the past four games are the most by any rookie in any four-game span.
His 19 TD passes are the most by a rookie in the first seven games of a season and broke Kurt War
ner’s mark of 18 in the first seven games of a career. “He played a fantastic game,” Sherman said. “To be a rookie and come in here, under all the circumstances, man you’ve got to give him all the credit in the world. He’s going to be a great player in this league.”
“Deshaun Watson is special,” echoed Wilson, who threw for an other-worldly 452 yards and four scores. “Go ahead and give him rookie of the year.”
That may be a given — and just the beginning. Though the Texans are 3-4, including near-misses at New England and Seattle, they are the class of the AFC South and should be playing in January. Ask Nick Saban what it’s like going up against Watson in a playoff game after 45-40 Alabama and 35-31 Clemson in the past two national championship games. Wilson is correct. We are watching a special player. Here’s to Deshaun Watson’s continued good health and to the thrill rides ahead.
YOU GOTTA BILL-IEVE
The Bills’ last trip to the playoffs ended in one of the great disasters … we’d say in recent memory, but it wasn’t so recent.
The date was Jan. 8, 2000. The event was the 1999 AFC wild-card game. The result forever will be known as the Music City Miracle. The Bills had just taken a 16-15 lead on a field goal by Steve Chris
tie with 16 seconds to go but had to cover the ensuing kickoff with an injury-depleted unit. Lorenzo Neal caught a blooped kickoff for the Titans and handed to Frank
Wycheck, who took a few steps to his right and threw back to the left to Kevin Dyson. The fleet Dyson took off down the left sideline and went 75 yards for the touchdown.
The Bills complained the miracle was illegal — that Wycheck’s throwback was a forward pass. And that play is still rued today in Western New York, because the Bills have not been back to the playoffs to create a new and better memory.
Wade Phillips lost his headcoaching job after going 8-8 the next season. Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan have come and gone in failed attempts to bring the Bills back. Only twice have they finished above .500 (9-7s in 2004 and 2014). Enter new coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane, exit a couple busloads of players. When camp began, there were 51 new players and 29 Ryan holdovers. Since then, WR Sammy Watkins, CB Ronald Darby and DT Marcel Dareus all have been sent packing. The massive purge has resulted in a Bills team that sits at 5-2 after Sunday’s thorough 34-14 dismantling of the Raiders in Orchard Park. Tyrod Taylor threw for one touchdown and ran for another, the defense forced four turnovers and returned one for a score ( Matt Milano’s 40-yard fumble return), and LeSean McCoy capped his
151-yard day with a 48-yard touchdown run.
“Our fans do a great job of creating a hostile environment,” Taylor said of his team’s 4-0 home record. “Home games are important to us and we want to ‘Defend Our Dirt.’ ”
The Bills are a half-game behind the 6-2 Patriots and hold the first AFC wild card. They finish their season series with the Jets on Thursday night, and have four games in December vs. the Patriots and Dolphins.
We won’t know for a while if the Bills will end their 17-year drought. For now, it’s looking good for them to get in. And if they can bring the postseason back to their Dirt, they’ll have a shot to make the Music City Miracle ancient history.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Three plays after a goal-line stand preserved a 13-12 lead for the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger lofted a third-and-9 pass from his own 3 into the hands of JuJu Smith-Schuster, who ran away from three Lions for the 97-yard touchdown. Back on the sideline, Smith-Schuster wrapped a chain around a stationary bike, a reference to him losing his bicycle this week. It was a bitter loss for the Lions, who rolled up 482 yards but never reached the end zone.
BAD BEAT
You’ve got the Chargers plus seven at Foxborough. You’re covering when Travis Benjamin catches a 24-yard TD pass from Philip Rivers to make it 18-13, but a failed two-point conversion doesn’t give you enough protection against
Stephen Gostkowski’s field goal with 1:08 to go. Then Rivers takes the Chargers to the Patriots 23 before being intercepted on the last play of the game was intercepted by Jonathan Jones.
POST PATTERNS
Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to a 33-19 victory over the Redskins. It was Dallas’ fifth win in a row at FedEx Field, as they move back over .500 at 4-3 for the season. The question now, though, is with another court hearing set for Monday in New York over his six-game domestic violence suspension, did Elliott and the Cowboys win anything with all of his temporary court “victories”? If his ban were to begin next week, it would be a huge blow to Dallas’ playoff chances. If he had taken his punishment at the start of the season, he’d already be back. … The Eagles lead the NFL with a 7-1 record after a 33-10 rout of the 49ers at the Linc, and are also having the most fun. After an early TD, Zach Ertz flipped the ball to frequent front-row fan Mike Trout. Later, after a 53-yard Alshon Jeffery score, the Eagles put a spin on their usual “home run” celebration, with Ertz hitting Jeffery with the pitch and Jeffery charging the mound.