Imagine if the Texans did this sooner
Deshaun Watson is good at football. No, strike that, he’s great.
The 25-year-old quarterback for the Houston Texans continues to be a constant praise for the franchise as the team stumbles through a loss season. At 4-7, it’s not impossible for them to finish above .500, but the AFC South will come down to either Tennessee or Indianapolis.
It shouldn’t the way Watson’s plays though. It probably wouldn’t either if the team elected to fire Bill O’Brien before the start of the 2020 season.
Since O’Brien’s departure from the club, Watson has been on point. During the team’s 1-4 start, he threw for nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Since then? Fifteen touchdowns and zero turnovers.
And keep in mind his offensive line still is terrible.
Watson the wonder
Watson excelled in his first career start on Thanksgiving, tossing four touchdown passes in a 41-25 blowout victory over the Detroit Lions. Twice he connected with Will Fuller for big time gains in the end zone and finishing with a passer rating of 150.4. He also finished with 318 yards through the air.
Houston’s gameplan under interim head coach Romeo Crennel has worked in Watson’s favor. Knowing their putrid run game can’t move the ball, Crennel has allowed Watson to control the clock by passing short. Once secondaries are least expecting it, he’ll go deep for big gains and hopeful scores.
Since Crennel took over the call, the Texans are sitting at 4-3. If Houston perhaps gave O’Brien the pink slip after blowing a 24-0 lead against the Kansas City Chiefs last season in the divisional round, other things could have transpired. Maybe the team wouldn’t have traded DeAndre Hopkins and trusted their original plan with Carols Hyde in the backfield?
All those are questions for another day, For now, Watson remains the staple of the offense and a reason to watch Houston play every Sunday. Clearly he’s earned the right to have a say in the ring process come this offseason.