All is not lost for Texans
Despite 2-6 record, Watson’s stellar play should give team hope
My banker came to the drive-thru teller window Thursday, proudly sporting a Texans mask.
When I joked that it was impressive he was still wearing Texans gear considering how poorly the team has played this season, he was quick to affirm his allegiance. “I stuck with them through 2-14 … twice,” he said.
That’s dedication. Edwin Chavarria should be applauded. And there is a better chance his perseverance will be rewarded this season than most probably think.
I'm not Jesse Jackson say
ing you should “keep hope alive.” It isn’t easy to promote positivity considering both of the Texans’ wins came against Jacksonville. But this isn’t a 2-14 team. I know it feels like it. The organization is a mess. From top to upper middle.
The Texans' 2020 started
with a historic playoff collapse, a ridiculous offseason trade of an irreplaceable offensive weapon, and a global pandemic. Then it got worse.
Bill O’Brien, inexplicably granted all power as the head coach and general manager, was fired one month into the season.
Jack Easterby, the guy who took over football operations and has such a weak résumé that he felt the need to embellish it with some not-so-accurate information, hasn’t bothered to say anything about anything since the transfer of power.
VP of Communications Amy Palcic, whom the team described as its “chief spokesperson” before erasing her bio page from its website, was fired this week in a rare in-season move.
Her dismissal had nothing to do with winning or losing football games, but it is double bogey for the course. Thanks to the Texans’ wayward drives, weak iron play and pitiful putting standards, this is the first time in NFL history such a move became national news.
Were Palcic still speaking for the team, she would be promoting its positives. Yes, there are some.
With only two teams having fewer wins than the Texans this season, it is easy to dismiss outstanding individual performances. Of course, since they have won just two games, there hasn’t been a lot of elite play.
But Deshaun Watson has been outstanding.
Wait, a quarterback playing well on a bad team? That isn’t normal.
Thus, this is a particularly exasperating point in team history. When a quarterback has played as well as Watson has, a fan shouldn’t even mention the 2-14 debacles.
Here is a statistic that best illustrates the difference between 2020 and the two seasons (2005 and 2013) that resulted in the Texans getting the No. 1 overall draft pick.
Halfway through the season, Watson has thrown 17 touchdown passes with just five interceptions.
In 2005, David Carr and Tony Banks threw only 15 touchdown passes between them. In 2013, Texans QBs Matt Schaub, Case Keenumand T. J. Yates combined to throw just 19 touchdown passes the entire season.
Back then, the Texans’ quarterback play was the worst. This season, it is among the best.
Watson is in the top 10 in every passing category, including second in passing yards per attempt (8.8) and third in completions of at least 20 yards (30).
Eight of the quarterbacks in the top 10 in touchdowns are on teams with two or fewer losses. Watson and Justin Herbert of the Chargers are stuck at 2-6.
Perhaps there will be a natural correction in the second half of the season.
The Texans play at Cleveland on Sunday. The Browns are three-point favorites.
Watson’s approach is that of a player who hasn’t given up on the season.
“Right now, we’re 2-6, and the only team we beat is Jacksonville,” he said. “That is what it is.
“Some people definitely have the other team as a favorite. … But at the same time, we’re always going to compete, especially when I’m on the field. I’m always going to compete. You’re always going to get my best in everything to the final finish. That’s something that we’re not even worried about.
“We’re going to go out there, and we’re going to play ball, and we’re going to have fun. We’re going to make plays. You’re going to get our best football, and that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get Houston Texans football — ready to go win games and continue to ride the momentum from last week.”
Can the Texans flip their record from 2-6 in the first half to 6-2, or anything close to that, in the second half of the season? The schedule is decidedly softer, and an 8-8 record could mean the playoffs.
The Texans need Watson to continue his superb play and get some help.
“One guy cannot be the team,” interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “Deshaun, as good as he is for us, he cannot be the team. It takes all the guys on the team and on the other side of the ball as well.
“When everybody does well, then the team can do well.”
The Texans might not have enough good players to do well.
But when your quarterback is good enough, hope is alive.