Watson’s superb season defies 3-7 record
DETROIT— Deshaunwatson has grown to love the game of chess, embracing the strategy and plotting of advanced moves to outmaneuver his opponents.
The football field is rapidly emerging as Watson’s personal chessboard: a place where he moves faster and thinks faster than the defenses and coaches trying to stop him.
Although the Texans’ season has gone awry, plummeting to 3-7 after winning consecutive AFC South Division titles, Watson is manufacturing a stellar season with remarkable success despite an anemic running game and a defense that rarely creates turnovers and short fields for him to operate
Watson hasn’t allowed anything to faze him, including the offseason trade of Deandre Hopkins, inconsistent pass protection or the firing of coach and general manager Bill O’brien in the wake of an 0-4 start.
Between his unflappable, fun-loving personality, improvisational skills, arm strength, upgraded accuracy and decision-making and his instinctive ability to process information, Watson is the Texans’ $156 million man and the most attractive draw for potential candidates for the team’s head coach and general manager vacancies.
Watson has made improvements in every aspect of his game during his fourth NFL season.
“I’ve really just been that quarterback, that point guard,” Watson said. “Really just taking the game in and really learning how to master my craft as aquarterback and read defenses and take what the defense is giving me.
“Just taking what the defense is giving me, protect the ball, master the craft,
master this offense and really be that surgeon and lead guys to try to get wins and try to get points.”
Heading into Thursday’s game against Detroit at Ford Field, Watson is on pace for a career-high 4,612 passing yards and 32 touchdowns and has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks and most dynamic players in the league regardless of position.
Whether it’s trucking New England safety Devin Mccourty for a touchdown run last Sunday or rifling deep spirals with uncanny precision, Watson is on top of his game.
“He’s really unbelievable,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. “I would say the thing about this guy that is amazing is how competitive he is all the way through the game. It doesn’t matter the situation, this guy always has that mentality that he’s
going to make a play to win, and a lot of times, he does. You see games where defenses have had him wrapped up in the backfield and it’s a sack and the game is over, and he gets out, he gets his eyes downfield, he makes an amazing throw and threads the needle.
“So, he is one of the tops
in the league at playing quarterback and being able to get out of pressure and extend plays, run the ball. I think their offense has really shifted a little bit and really kind of designed nowto fit a lot of things that he does. There’s a lot of gun runs, a lot of (run-pass options), distraction plays and forma
tions and motions and shifts. His arm strength is as strong as anybody in the league.”
Watson is completing a career-high 68.9 percent of his throws and hasn’t thrown an interception in five weeks, passing for 18 touchdownsandthree interceptions since the first two games of the season.
Watson has built a careerhigh 108.6 passer rating and 8.5 yards per passing attempt despite being sacked 26 times and the Texans having the 31st-ranked running game in the league.
Watson has thrown a touchdown on 5.9 percent of his passes with a careerlow 1.5 percent interception rate.
For a team in flux, Watson has managed to overcome his circumstances.
“I think Deshaunwants to be the best that he can be every play and every snap because I think that he had developed that in his younger years and from high school all the way through college,” Texans interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “He’s always been that leader. I think he embraces the leadership role. He embraces being the guywith the ball in his hand.”
Watson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career Wednesday, joining Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes as the only quarterbacks to win five Player of the Week awards since 2017.
Watson’s play has been truly elite, especially in recent weeks.
“He’s a great player, he’s like Houdini in the backfield,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “He can make plays with his legs. He can throw any ball on the field; he can run anybody over.
“I’m fortunate to have him on my team. When you have a guy like that at quarterback, that’s why where we are can never be acceptable. You have to take advantage of the opportunity that you have with a guy like that in your backfield.”
With 20 touchdown passes and 2,883 yards, Watson has the most scoring throws and the second-most passing yards of a Texans player through the first 10 games of a season.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Lions safety Duronharmon said. “His scrambling ability is elite. He’s up there with the best of them, but the thing that he does really well, is he scrambles to throw downfield. He always utilizes his feet when he needs to.
“He’s just a great quarterback, a great talent, and somebody we’re going to have our hands full with trying to get ready for on Thursday.”