Once again on Sunday the Houston Texans found themselves in the red zone, in the final minute of a game, in a strong position to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
And, once again, Houston found a way to lose in spectacular fashion — the theme of the 2020 season.
This time? It involved Keke Coutee, freed from Bill O’Brien dog house, carrying multiple defenders towards the end zone before having the ball punched out. It looked like the third-year wide receiver was going to give the Texans the game-tying score before Darius Leonard’s fist from the left ended any dreams of a Houston victory.
Another game against Indianapolis signaled another loss that was simply out of quarterback Deshaun Watson’s control, a loss that may make fans forget about the atrocity that was center Nick Martin’s botched snap. The fumble, part 2, buried an incredible game from the franchise signal caller.
The magic was there. Houdini was in the building. It just wasn’t enough.
The man has been on 🔥 FIRE 🔥
📺: CBS
📱: https://t.co/Nm64mQkAPf pic.twitter.com/t8gohA7F80— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 20, 2020
Watson completed 33 of 41 attempts for 373 passing yards including two scores to receiver Chad Hansen and Coutee respectively. This was done despite the Colts defensive line seemingly dominating the entire game. Watson was sacked five times and the Colts defense racked up eight quarterback hits.
However, despite the pressure, Watson showed his poise and ability to adapt. #4 did not hesitate to throw towards David Johnson when the defense showed what appeared to be a refusal to cover him. As such, the much maligned star of the DeAndre Hopkins trade delivered a Christian McCaffrey-esque performance of 11 receptions for 106 yards.
The loss once again casts a large shadow over what continues to be an incredible season for Watson and his development as a quarterback. The Texans dropped to 4-10 on the campaign and will look to rebound against an equally-lowly Cincinnati Bengals squad next week.