“I think all of those guys, they want to do everything they can to keep Deshaun (Watson) clean. He's a great player and he's an awesome person, too, so I think those guys, as they get to know him, really like him and really want him to be successful and understand that in order for him to be successful, they need to do their jobs and protect him. I think that's something that we've done a better job of as the season’s progressed,” Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly told the media on Thursday.
After allowing Watson to be sacked 18 times in the first four games, and using four unique starting units, the Texans returned to their Week 3 offensive line of Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard at the tackles, Max Scharping and Zach Fulton at the guards and Nick Martin at center. That unit kept Watson clean on his way to being named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
One area that the Texans have been impressed with is the growth of Tunsil early in his tenure with the club. The team knew they were getting a good player when they acquired the left tackle prior to the regular season, but the coaching staff admires Tunsil’s ability to quickly learn the offense.
“He's come in every day, him and Dev (Mike Devlin) and Nick (Martin) and the whole line, they're doing a great job of really trying to build the continuity and really learn the offense inside and out, and I think it's shown in the past couple of weeks,” Kelly added.
Watson’s playing style will make him more prone to sacks than a lot of other quarter backs in the league, but the Texans are willing to surrender that risk for the reward of his upside. Such as two AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards five games into the season. That style can also be difficult for an offensive lineman to block for. They don’t always know where Watson will go and for how long he’ll hold onto the ball.
“It's hard. They don't have eyes in the back of their head, so one thing that we continue to talk to them about is just working to finish,” Kelly said. “Working to finish and really playing through the echo of the whistle and maintaining – just continue to work to block your guy. Because if you do, if you maintain contact with your responsibility, 4 (Deshaun Watson) is going to make something happen.”