The Houston Texans needed another spark after defensive end J.J. Watt provided the first with his sack of Josh Allen on third down that held the Buffalo Bills to a field goal in the AFC wild-card.
Down 16-0 and 1:41 to go in the third quarter, quarterback Deshaun Watson scrambled on a first-and-10 from the 20-yard line. Ultimately, two Bills defenders could not stop the 6-2, 220-pound quarterback, and were along for the ride as Watson bulled his way to the end zone for Houston’s first touchdown.
“I mean, it’s the playoffs, so you win or you go home,” Watson told reporters after the Texans’ 22-19 win Saturday at NRG Stadium. “We were down and definitely wanted to make a spark, and I just made a play.”
Rookie fullback Cullen Gillaspia laid a block on a Bills defender that opened up the running lane for Watson to take advantage.
“I just knew I had to find something to, I guess, keep going, and I knew I wasn’t going down,” said Watson. “I kind of just pushed forward and got in the end zone.”
After the touchdown, Watson added a scramble to the right pylon for a two-point conversion to cut the Bills’ lead to 16-8 with a little over 16:00 total left in the ballgame.