Houston QB Watson wins in his 1st start
Deshaun Watson arrived in a tuxedo for his first NFL start. From his bowtie to his gameturning scramble, he did it all in style Thursday night.
The rookie ran 49 yards for a touchdown and led the Texans’ depleted offense to a late clinching field goal in a 13-9 victory over host Cincinnati.
“I was just trying to make a play. I found a hole and broke away,” he said.
Watson — on his 22nd birthday — showed the flash that helped him lead Clemson to a national title last season. He dashed past befuddled defenders to give Houston a 10-3 lead late in the first half.
“The first start on my birthday was pretty emotional,” said Watson, whose run was the longest by a Texan since 2014.
The Texans (1-1) got the most out of their depleted offense, and then let their defense do the rest. The Bengals (0-2) have failed to score a touchdown in their first two games to open a season for the first time in their 50 seasons.
“Very surprised,” receiver A.J. Green said. “We practice well, but when it comes to the game, we’re out of character. I don’t know what we’re doing out there.”
The Bengals thought they finally had a touchdown when Tyler Eifert caught a pass from Dalton in the end zone in the third quarter — the videoboard broke into a touchdown song — but the tight end had stepped out of bounds before making the catch. Cincinnati settled for its third field goal.
Watson directed an offense missing three tight ends because of concussions, along with receiver Will Fuller V and guard Jeff Allen. He was 15for-24 for 125 yards with three sacks and no interceptions and led a 13-play drive that set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 42-yard field goal with 1:56 left.
The Bengals got the ball back two more times, the last with 2 seconds left. They didn’t get far. Following multiple laterals, Dalton got the ball back and threw it to center Russell Bodine, who was leveled by J.J. Watt to end the game.
“Thank you for throwing it to the guy closest to me — body slam,” said Watt, who had six tackles after having only one in a loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, his first game back from a back injury that wiped out most of his 2016 season. Brady on concussions: New England quarterback Tom Brady doesn’t worry about concussions and considers them part of football, he says in a TV interview to be aired this weekend.
“I’m not oblivious to them,” Brady tells “CBS Sunday Morning.” “I mean, I understand the risks that, you know, come with the physical nature of our game.”
Brady’s wife, model Gisele Bundchen, said in May that the quarterback has had unreported concussions and that she worried about his long-term health. A joint NFL and players’ union investigation found this week that there was no evidence that Brady or the team failed to follow the league’s policies on concussions. Briefly: Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. practiced on a limited basis for the first time since spraining his left ankle more than three weeks ago . ... Baltimore placed running back Danny Woodhead on injured reserve with a left hamstring injury suffered in the first quarter of the season opener . ... Jets linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin has a herniated disk in his back that probably will need season-ending surgery.