It’s elementary: Watson worthy of MVP buzz
With two minutes remaining at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Texans coach Bill O’Brien had a tough decision on his hands with his team up by seven points.
Attempt a field goal by a shaky Ka’imi Fairbairn (who’d already missed one, as well as an extra point) and risk giving the Chiefs the ball back at their 34-yard line? Or go for it on fourth-and-3, knowing a first down would essentially seal the victory?
O’Brien sent the offense back on the field. With a quarterback like Deshaun Watson leading the way, it felt like the right decision.
That’s what an MVP-level quarterback can do for a team. He can make it feel secure in big moments. And he can convert that first down, which Watson did with a completion
to DeAndre Hopkins.
Watson — in his third season with the Texans — has gone from high-potential draft pick to legit Most Valuable Player contender. And the Texans are 4-2 because of it.
There is a lot of football left and a lot of talent in the NFL. Players like Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey are all rightfully earning MVP buzz at this point in the season.
But Watson is very much in the MVP mix. Few players are more valuable to their team than him.
“He has a lot of confidence in his teammates,” O’Brien said after the Texans’ 31-24 win over Kansas City. “He has a lot of confidence in his own ability. The team has a lot of confidence in him. He has really good poise. He learns from series to series. He is a great player.”
It was one thing to watch Watson dazzle against the 1-5 Falcons at NRG Stadium two Sundays ago. He wowed in that game, registering a perfect 158.3 passer rating by completing 28 of 33 throws for 426 yards and five touchdowns. He was quick on his feet, made terrific decisions and led the Texans to a 53-32 win.
On Sunday, however, in a tough Arrowhead environment against a team favored to beat the Texans, Watson didn’t just perform at a high level. He overcame obstacles and found a way to win.
The ability to do that is more impressive than a lot of other qualities. Willing a team to victory is what the best players do. Watson is doing that for the Texans this season.
In Sunday’s win, Watson completed 30 of 42 passes for 280 yards and one touchdown. He threw two picks but also scored twice on the ground.
Had Will Fuller — an on-point receiver against Atlanta — not dropped three potential touchdown passes, Watson would have done even more damage.
Despite the issues, Watson remained calm and collected. As he worked to pull the Texans out of every tough situation, he made his value more and more clear.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to deal with all of the adversity, the ups and downs and the flows of the game, and to be able to keep fighting for 60 minutes,” Watson said. “We never got discouraged. We kept fighting, we kept pushing, we kept encouraging, and that’s the biggest part about this locker room.”
It can’t be understated how impressive the performance was, considering it happened opposite Mahomes, the league’s reigning MVP. With the Chiefs and Texans trading up, the two quarterbacks were selected two spots apart in the 2017 draft — Mahomes at No. 10 and Watson at No. 12. Sunday marked their first meeting, and Watson walked away with the win.
Watson, who seems to add something to his arsenal every week, has impressive statistics through six games: 140 completions on 201 attempts for 1,644 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has carried the ball 32 times for 164 yards and five TDs.
He’s leading the way for a 4-2 team with a handful of quality wins under its belt.
He should absolutely be a leading candidate in the MVP conversation.
“I just do what I do,” Watson said. “I’ve been winning ever since I came in this league. I’ve been doing a lot of different things, and I just kind of focus on my craft, on this team, and I don’t really get into the MVP stuff.”
If he keeps it up, the MVP talk will continue whether Watson cares about it or not.