Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson looked rather pedestrian against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The two-time Pro Bowler completed 20 passes on 30 attempts for 163 yards and a touchdown, which were the fewest passing yards he has accumulated this season.
Part of what neutralized Watson through the air was the windy weather in Cleveland, where gusts were upwards of 28 miles per hour at kickoff.
Watson even admitted the weather affected his throws “a lot.”
“You have to be able to guide the ball — different ways and different areas of the field,” Watson said. “A couple of times, the ball was right there, but the wind took it certain ways and directed it. It was tough. It was tough on both sides.”
The Texans weren’t the only ones having trouble getting their passing game going. Cleveland similarly had trouble through the air as quarterback Baker Mayfield went 12-of-20 for 132 yards.
“That is why they did a lot of bootlegs, draws and different screens like that, but the same with us,” said Watson. “We had to pick our spots and try to throw it down the field because that is what we want to do, but it is kind of hard with heavy wind.”
Watson threw a 16-yard touchdown to tight end Pharaoh Brown in the fourth quarter to avoid the Texans’ fourth ever shutout in franchise history, playoffs or otherwise. Though the wind was a factor for Houston’s offense generating a paltry 243 yards, Watson won’t relax after the loss simply because of how gusty the winds were.
Said Watson: “You can’t make any excuses. We didn’t capitalize. We didn’t connect. We just came up short.”
Houston won’t have to deal with any winds inside NRG Stadium in Week 11 as they take on the New England Patriots. However, they need to figure out ways to not come up short against a 4-5 team that is also battling for a ticket into the playoffs.
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