WATT AN EFFORT
Star defensive end returns from injury to spark sagging defense with big sack
Just two months after tearing a muscle in his chest, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt could beat his chest in pride Saturday afternoon to celebrate a dramatic comeback victory that he sparked.
Wearing a protective harness to protect his surgically repaired pectoral, the threetime NFL Defensive Player of the Year executed a textbook rip move as he slammed his left arm underneath the arm of Buffalo Bills rookie offensive tackle Cody Ford with enough force and torque to drive him backward into the backfield.
Watt kept accelerating, carrying the 6-3, 329-pound Cody along for the ride as he sacked quarterback Josh Allen for a loss of 8 yards in the third quarter.
Watt flexed his arms as his play meant the Bills had to settle for a field goal. After that big effort, the Texans’ dormant offense and defense came alive and delivered several impactful plays during a 22-19 overtime victory at NRG Stadium.
Enduring months of painful rehabilitation from an injury that initially Watt and the Texans expected to end his season, his inspirational play made a big difference. Following that sack, the Texans scored 19 unanswered points to erase a 16-0 deficit.
And Watt defied expectations and any doubters who questioned the wisdom of him returning from a major injury two months after he got hurt against the Oakland Raiders. Normally, it takes at least three to four months to make a full recovery.
Watt contributed a sack and two quarterback hits.
“It’s incredible to be back out there with the guys, that’s why you do it,” Watt said. “That’s why you take the risk. That’s why you do it all, for those moments to be out there with the guys, to be a part of the team, to try and help the team win, to try and bring that spark.
“There are a lot of people that were questioning it or calling me crazy or telling me I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, but nobody knows what those feelings feel like and nobody knows what it feels like to be a part of a group of guys like we have in that locker room. Quite frankly, I don’t really care what anyone else says. I did it for those moments right out there and it was a hell of a feeling.”
On the ensuing drive after Watt’s sack, quarterback Deshaun Watson powered into the end zone behind a block from rookie fullback Cullen Gillaspia.
One drive later, it was outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus applying pressure on Allen. He sacked him and popped the football out of his hand with outside linebacker Jacob Martin recovering the fumble. That led to a field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn to close the Bills’ once-commanding lead to 16-11.
“You felt the electricity in the building,” said Mercilus, who lost the majority of a season three years ago when he tore his pectoral against the Kansas City Chiefs. “It juiced everybody up. When he came back from that kind of injury and got a sack, everybody was like, ‘Let’s make some plays.’ For him to come back from injury and have a great, stellar play down there, it juiced everybody up. It elevated our play, honestly.”
Most importantly, the Texans got the win and Watt’s chest held up. Not that weren’t some anxious moments for the former first-round draft pick from Wisconsin.
“I’m pretty shocked,” Watt said. “I’m not going to lie. It feels pretty good. There was one play where (Allen) was rolling out and I dove for him and before I dove I thought to myself, ‘Here it is. It’s either going to hold or it’s going to go.’ I dove, landed right on it, popped up, kind of checked it out, looked over at the doctor who was standing 10 feet away and said: ‘It’s all right.’ I’m very pleased with the way it held up.”
Watt was originally slated to only play as a situational pass rusher, coming in on third downs or second-and-long.
That plan was scrapped, though, in the fourth quarter and overtime with a pivotal game on the line.
Watt became a full-time player in the clutch.
“Obviously, we kind of threw the plan out of the window in the fourth quarter and overtime because it’s all hands on deck,” Watt said. “You do what you can. I’m very pleased with the way it held up and very thankful for all the medical people and strength people that helped me.
The plan was third down, pass-rushing situations and trying to pick our spots throughout the game and try to find passrushing situations.
“Through the first three quarters, we followed it pretty tightly. It was frustrating at times. I’m not going to lie. You’re itching to get back out there. You want to be out there every play, but you also have to be smart. I wasn’t going to be dumb about this. I promised my family and I promised everybody else. Once it came down to crunch time, all the rules went out the window. That’s why you come back. You don’t want to play sporadically in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Fourth quarter and overtime, it was cut it loose, hope for the best and that worked.”
It was a remarkable game by a player who’s had a career for the ages as one of the most decorated defensive players in NFL history.
“To come back from a torn pec, that’s very impressive,” Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil said.
The Texans had their work cut out for them against Allen, an unconventional, unpredictable, athletic quarterback who caught a touchdown pass for the Bills’ first score.
He rushed for 92 yards on nine carries. He passed for 264 yards, but no touchdowns. Mercilus, Martin and Watt all sacked him once apiece.
“Josh Allen, he’s pretty elusive for a big guy and has got some speed,” Mercilus said. “We understood that we did our best.”
The defensive effort took everyone, including 10 tackle and nine tackles, respectively, from linebackers Benardrick McKinney and Zach Cunningham and Mercilus’ sack and forced fumble.
Watt’s big play got it started, though. “The sack, I would say 100 percent,” Martin said. “That’s a veteran leader for us. Anytime he has success, the defense has success.”
Texans coach Bill O’Brien wasn’t surprised by what Watt did. Not at this point, not after watching him come back previously from a broken leg and herniated discs that required surgeries in the past.
“I thought he made some really gamechanging plays,” O’Brien said. “He just changes the game by his presence in there.”