HOUSTON (SPORTSRADIO 610) – Deshaun Watson's game-winning touchdown drive that was capped off with DeAndre Hopkins' second touchdown catch of the game helped the Houston Texans slip by the New York Jets, 29-22.
Down for the first time all game, the Texans needed a response down by three with five minutes left in the game. All Watson did was march his team down the field on a five-play, 75-yard drive that would be the difference. The Texans won for the 10th time in their past 11 games.
"It's always fun when you have the opportunity on the big stage to lead your team to victory," Watson said. "It's in my DNA. I did it in college and I have to continue to do it in the NFL. Like I said before, everything comes down to the final drive and you have the ball in your hands with the opportunity to win it."
Watson started the drive with a 20-yard strike to Hopkins, six more yards to Alfred Blue, an incomplete pass, defensive holding to move the chains, 20-yard connection with Demaryius Thomas, three more to Thomas, a 7-yard connection again with Hopkins and then the 14-yard touchdown pass that gave the Texans the lead for good. Watson was 6-of-7 for 70 yards and a touchdown on the final drive alone.
"The game is never over for me. The plays are never over sometimes," Watson said. "For me, I just go out there and put the ball in my hands and lead the team to victory. I've been doing that my whole life and I'm going to continue to do it, especially at this level. Everything comes down to your final drive, so you have to block out all the noise and lock in and try to lead the team to victory."
Yes, it is Week 15 against a subpar team. Watson's drive shouldn't be compared to some of the legendary drives we've seen in NFL history. But perhaps it's a preview of what Watson has in store for the rest of his career.
"Thank God he's our quarterback. Yeah, that was going through my mind. He's a great player. He wants the ball in those situations, that has always been the case with him from the time he was probably 12 years old," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said. "We had faith in him to be able to direct it. We talked a little bit about the drive before that last drive — I said, 'Look, I'm going to spread them out for you and see if you can see things,' and, 'If this happens, you have to do this — if this happens, you have to do that,' and he was pretty much in tune with what we were saying, and then he just went out and did it. He executed it, and it was a great drive."
