After battling injuries for years, Tiger Woods made a statement and won the 2019 Masters.
In the same vein, Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has earned one All-Pro selection since herniating a disc in 2016 and fracturing his tibial plateau in 2017 — not quite the same level of play that earned him three NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors from 2012-15.
Like Woods, it looked like injuries were going to be a part of the back end of his career as he tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders. Yet Watt returned from the surgery and rehabilitation in two months and is primed to help the Texans take on the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card.
“It was pretty incredible for [Woods] to win the Masters after obviously everything that he’s been through and how long his career has been,” Watt told reporters Wednesday. “I just remember it being unbelievable. That’s what it was. It was unbelievable and I think that it was crazy to watch, to see how excited everybody was for him.”
Houston sports fans, and those partial to the Texans’ and Watt’s cause, will similarly be excited if the 30-year-old is able to put an eight-game absence behind him and be a productive force for the defense en route to a win.
Much like golf has a “Tiger effect” when Woods is competing at a high level, the Texans are hoping to compete at a comparable high level with Watt providing the juice off the edge.
Before Watt’s injury, he was second on the Texans with 4.0 sacks. Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus led the way with 5.5. However, the former 2011 first-round pick was able to produced 21 quarterback hits, the most in the NFL at the time of his injury. If Watt is able to affect Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen to that degree inside NRG Stadium, the the Texans have a decent shot to beat the Bills.