Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is one of the favorites to win the MVP award, and he only added to his case by leading his team to an important Week 9 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Deshaun Watson made a legendary, clutch play in last week’s win over the Oakland Raiders, throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Darren Fells despite suffering a scary kick to the eye from defensive end Arden Key. The former Clemson star excelled in the fourth quarter of the Houston Texans 27-24 win, but that one play in particular epitomized the way he leads his team to victory.
In Week 9, Watson didn’t need a signature play or a stellar fourth quarter to help the Texans win. No, Houston thoroughly demolished the rival Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The defense made mincemeat out of rookie surprise Gardner Minshew and had no issues dealing with Leonard Fournette on the ground. Meanwhile, Carlos Hyde had no trouble rushing for 160 yards on 19 carries against a normally solid Jaguars defense.
But Watson was still the main story in this 26-3 victory. Despite coming into the game with eye issues following last week’s stiff kick to the head, Watson’s vision did not suffer at all. The man completed 22-of-28 passes for 201 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions against a ravenous Jaguars defense.
Furthermore, despite being hit seven times by the Jaguars pass rush, which boasts Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue, Watson was only sacked once. So much for the narrative that he needs to do a better job of avoiding sacks.
Watson is in the midst of a spectacular season for the Texans, and he’s well on his way to entrenching himself as an elite quarterback in the NFL. At 6-3, the Texans can make the claim that they are the best team in the AFC behind the undefeated and impossibly dominant New England Patriots, and it’s Watson’s brilliance that is central to this claim.
He does it all for this team. Watson makes big plays with his arm, spreads the ball around to a variety of capable targets, rarely makes mistakes, is one of the league’s most accurate passers, can overcome poor blocking, and can make plays with his feet.
Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and even the injured Patrick Mahomes all can make strong claims to the MVP race among quarterbacks, but Watson has just as much business winning the award as those four quarterbacks. He’s in the thick of the race and has once again shown why he deserves all the love he gets from NFL fans. Watson is a special quarterback and a vital leader for the Texans organization.