Deshaun Watson’s highest passer rating from the 34-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs came on no-huddle. The two-time Pro Bowler completed three passes on four attempts for 60 yards, a 116.7 passer rating.
If the Houston Texans are so successful running no-huddle, why isn’t it their default offense, or why do they wait until their behind to run it?
According to Watson, the trick to being successful within the no-huddle offense is knowing when to use it.
“You can [run no-huddle], but at the same time you’ve got to be smart about that,” Watson said. “If you play a little too fast and leave too much time for the Chiefs — at the time, last week. If you play fast and you go three and out, now the defense is back on the field and now they’re tired. You’ve got to be able to control what you kind of can control and just kind of build from there.”
The Texans built a 7-0 lead against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, but they drifted into chase position as Kansas City peeled off 31 unanswered points. Houston never regained the tempo once the Chiefs’ offense fired up.
“Every game is a learning lesson so there’s different things we spoke about in the meeting about that game, but we continue to grow and figure it out,” said Watson. “We just ran out of time. We’ve just got to continue to have a better full first half than what we did and try to keep the game a little closer.”
The Texans will need to find ways to utilize the no-huddle, or at least control the tempo of the game, as they take on the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at 3:25 p.m. at NRG Stadium. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 20-of-25 for 275 yards and three touchdowns, leading Baltimore to a 38-6 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. Jackson is in control of a potent offense, and Watson can help his defense out by keeping the ball longer and out of Jackson’s hands.