HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- Deshaun Watson still has the Texans' playoff collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs in the back of his mind.
The Texans quarterback said Wednesday it's not something he dwells on -- blowing a 24-0 second-quarter lead to the eventual Super Bowl Champions -- but he acknowledged there is extra motivation going into the 2020 season.
"For sure, it's always in the back of my mind," Watson said. "But it's something that I didn't dwell on. I didn't get upset about it or constantly think about it all the time. It's definitely a motivational factor, but what I wanted to work on this offseason was to get my craft down and continue to be ready for big time moments like that and figure out what happened for that situation to change. Of course it's been on my mind, but it wasn't the main factor for this offseason."
Houston and Kansas City open the NFL season at Arrowhead Stadium in exactly one week.
Due to health and logistical challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the league scrapped its preseason, so the Texans have not played a competitive football game since the loss in January.
Watson was careful not to get caught up in comparisons to the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes', who was drafted two spots behind Watson three years ago and now has a league MVP and Super Bowl MVP on his resume.
"No, I focus on myself," Watson said. "I'm not going to compare myself to no one else. Each one of us probably has different standards, different ways of how we approach the game. We all want to be legendary and champs, but there's different standards and different situations that we've got to focus, so I can't compare myself to Pat because some things that Pat does well that I need to work on. There's some things I do well, Pat might need to work on. …
"At the end of the day we do the same thing, but at the same time we're different people, and the way we operate and think might be a little bit different, so we can't compare each other to one another."
Of course, fans and media will continue comparing the two quarterbacks. Take their contract situations for example.
Mahomes in July signed a 10-year extension worth up to $503 million. Watson is in line for a similar contract, though he is rumored to want fewer years on the deal.
"Yeah, my agent and the organization are continuing to handle that," Watson said. "My main focus is just getting ready for next week and making sure this team is set in stone and mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually ready for September 10th. My agent is handling that."
