The third-year quarterback went 16-of-29, passing for 159 yards with a 70.9 quarterback rating. He did not have a touchdown pass or an interception, but scored the Texans' only touchdown with a two-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.
Watson was also sacked four times, putting the sack total at 10 through the first two games. That was the most sacks against any quarterback in the league when the game ended.
The Texans did start two offensive linemen for the first time in their careers.
After the win, Watson admitted he missed some throws and gave the Jaguars’ defensive front credit for disrupting the Texans.
“There’s always plays out there that I could have made and continued to get better,” Watson said. “That’s what it’s about, especially for this long season. It’s a journey. You’ve got to continue to get better each and every week.”
Head coach Bill O’Brien was asked about Watson’s performance, specifically how he picked up blitzes. O’Brien said he would have to watch him on film for a better evaluation, but echoed Watson’s comments on the Jaguars’ defense.
“Thought he played tough and managed the game really well,” O’Brien said of Watson. “It was a tough game, hard game. Very good defense in Jacksonville, and I thought we tried to get the ball down, stretch the field a little bit, didn’t connect. Had a chance to connect a few times, didn’t connect. So we have to go back to work on some things. But we won, which was important.”
From the other sideline, rookie Gardner Minshew II started for the first time in his NFL career, after going 22-of-25 last week in relief of the injured Nick Foles.
Against the Texans, Minshew threw 23-of-33 for 213 passing yards and a touchdown toward the end of the game Sunday. His QB rating was 97.2 and Minshew also didn't throw an interception, though he did fumble three times and lost one.