HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- A 17-0 third quarter and a bounceback performance by Deshaun Watson paced the Houston Texans ahead of the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
Watson threw for five touchdowns and Will Fuller V caught three touchdown passes as Houston beat Atlanta 53-32.
Tashaun Gipson Sr.'s pick-6 was just icing on the cakewalk that was the Texans second half.
And then there's Tashaun Gipson Sr., leaving no doubt about this @HoustonTexans victory pic.twitter.com/VNXHn9gBkF
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) October 6, 2019Watson, who wanted to improve on a disappointing performance in last week's loss to the Carolina Panthers, did not disappoint. The third-year quarterback was 28-of-33 for 426 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
"It's something that we wanted, we took pride, we took personal," Watson said after the game. "We knew what we had to do, especially offensively. We had to go in there and execute, we had to bring the energy, play fast, do what we do, and make sure that every time we touch the ball we try to end with points.
"And the defense did their part in handling their own and it's a great team win."
With the Texans down a receiver due to Kenny Stills' hamstring injury, they needed big plays from the other receivers on the team. Going into the game, Stills was the second leading receiver and the only one other than DeAndre Hopkins to record a touchdown reception this season.
Fuller was up to the challenge. He had 14 catches on 16 targets for 217 yards and three touchdowns - for 6 yards, 33 yards and then 44 yards, respectively.
The Texans had six receiving touchdowns in the first four games, then five in just this one game against Atlanta.
What a day for @Will_Fuller7 pic.twitter.com/KsFsrVdfW2
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) October 6, 2019After trailing by a point at halftime, the Texans jumped out to a 17-0 run against the Falcons in the third quarter Sunday.
Houston regained the lead earlier in the quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Carlos Hyde.
Then after a short Falcons drive, which gained no yards for Atlanta, Houston drove down the field again to convert on a 26-yard Ka'imi Fairbairn field goal.
Watson found tight end Darren Fells for an eight-yard touchdown pass.
The Falcons finally responded with a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, capped by a one-yard score by Matt Ryan. Atlanta then converted on the two-point attempt, cutting Houston's lead to 33-25.
Fells followed up by scoring on a 12-yard pass play, catching the ball over the head of an Atlanta defender, which led to the Texans taking a 40-25 lead with 6:24 left to go in the fourth quarter.
Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley helped bring Atlanta to within a score by getting his toes in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan. The Falcons cut the Texans lead to 40-32 with the scoring drive, giving Houston the ball with just under four minutes left to play.
The Texans managed to put up two more touchdowns, one of them Fuller's 44-yard score and the final one Gipson picking off Ryan and taking it the other way for 79 yards.
Fuller put on a show in the first half, catching his first eight targets for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
But the Falcons led the Texans 17-16 at halftime.
The Falcons scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Freeman to tie the game and Matt Bryant's point after attempt gave Atlanta the lead. Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a point after attempt earlier in the second quarter, which is the difference in the score so far.
Fuller scored in the first half on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson, then again on a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Fairbairn also nailed a 50-yard field goal to put the Texans up 16-10 before the Falcons touchdown to Freeman.
"I think gaining yards is the key to being able to set the pace," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said after the game. "If you're always going backwards, you've got no chance of setting the pace. In any offense, if you can gain positive yards early in the drive you can set the pace."
Atlanta scored earlier in the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu, then again on a 35-yard Matt Bryant field goal.
Houston (3-2) travels to face the Kansas City Chiefs next week. The Falcons (1-4), who have lost three straight games, host the Arizona Cardinals next week.
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