There was a moment late in the third quarter where Houston sports fans held their breath, and probably lowered humanity’s carbon footprint for five minutes.
With 2:12 to go in the third quarter, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson lie flat on his back clutching his right wrist and forearm. The franchise quarterback came out of the fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line, and backup A.J. McCarron’s hesitancy sack proved why Houston can’t afford to go without Watson.
When the Texans got the ball back with 1:05 to go in the third quarter, Watson came back out on the field with the offense; his injury was healed.
What caused Watson to react in that manner, and how serious was it really if he was able to return to the game?
“He got hit on the funny bone,” interim coach Romeo Crennel said. “You know how those funny bones in the elbow, they, boom, bang the nerve for a minute. But he came off and worked it around and got the feeling back, and so we put him back in the game.”
Watson finished completing 21 passes on 30 attempts for 219 yards and a touchdown. The two-time Pro Bowler also took six sacks in the 36-7 beating.
“I’m good,” Watson said. “Yeah, I just had to come out for a play because I stayed on the ground, and yeah, that was pretty much it. I just wanted to finish out the game. There was nothing else to that, towards that, so, that was really my decision.”
The Texans are 4-9 on the season and eliminated from the playoffs. Houston will need to be more judicious with the hits that Watson takes as clearly they have better odds in the future.
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