Tag: NFL Week 17

Touchdown Wire keeps Texans at No. 10 in Week 17 NFL power rankings

The Houston Texans are No. 10 in the latest Touchdown Wire NFL power rankings, a no-change from their Week 16 position.

The Houston Texans winning the AFC South for the second year in a row, fourth time in five seasons, and sixth time in the decade didn’t help their cause to move up in the power rankings.

According to Pat Yasinskas of the Touchdown Wire, the Texans stayed put at No. 10, just a slot below the Minnesota Vikings, who blew their chance to win the NFC North with a 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football at home.

The Texans won the AFC South for the fourth time in five years, but there shouldn’t be too much celebrating. Let’s be honest. The Texans aren’t a team that scares any of the other AFC playoff teams right now. Houston beat the Buccaneers on Saturday, but they struggled mightily in doing so. Tampa Bay tried to give the game away early with three interceptions in the first half. But the Texans allowed Tampa Bay back into the game and allowed Jameis Winston to throw for 335 yards. The Texans are hoping pass-rusher J.J. Watt will be healthy enough to return for the playoffs. That would be a big boost for the defense. But the offense’s performance against Tampa Bay leaves real concerns. Despite five Bucs turnovers, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson managed just 184 passing yards and no touchdowns, and the running game never got on track. If the Texans are going to do any damage in the postseason, they need to play much better than they did against Tampa Bay.

The Texans will have one more week to move up in the power rankings as they take on the Tennessee Titans in the season finale at NRG Stadium. It remains to be seen how competitive Houston is in the ballgame as the results do not materially affect their ability to obtain a first-round bye; they will be stuck playing during Jan. 4-5 wild-card weekend whether they are the No. 3 or No. 4 seed. It may be wiser to rest their top players, take the L, and get ready for a do-or-die game at NRG Stadium next week.

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Texans DE J.J. Watt will wear a harness to protect re-injury of torn pectoral

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt will wear a harness to prevent re-injury of his torn pectoral muscle. He returned to practice on Tuesday.

J.J. Watt is back. Two months after tearing his pectoral against the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Texans defensive end is recovered and ready to rock and all. He returned to practice on Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

In coming back from the injury, Watt has defied all expectations. Often, the recovery time for a torn pectoral lasts three to four months. Not for Watt.

Though back from the often season-ending injury, Watt will not be without accessories. He will wear a harness that will stop him from going an extreme length backward, but it will not hinder his normal range of motion.

“Yeah, I’ll have some protection on it just to protect me from going to the true extreme lengths backwards, but I’ll have full forward and upward motion available,” Watt said on Tuesday. “I’ve been wearing the harness for the last couple of weeks while I’ve been training and practicing and practicing off on my own so it doesn’t really bother me at all.”

The harness Watt will don is in-place to prevent re-injury, which is likelier to happen considering how quickly he is set to play. When he was injured making a tackle on Raiders tailback Josh Jacobs, his arm went all the way back. The harness will stop that.

Watt wears a bulky brace on his left elbow. He suffered an elbow dislocation in August of 2012.

Though now protected from re-injury, Watt will not play in Week 17 against the Tennessee Titans. A player on the injured reserve has to miss at least eight games. The Texans star defensive end missed seven. His return will probably take place in the first round of the playoffs.

Watt will give the Texans a massive boost in the pass rush department. Before the injury, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year recorded four sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 24 quarterback pressures.

J.J. Watt experiences pleasure and pain watching the Texans from the sidelines

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has to balance the joy of watching his teammates succeed with the agony of not being able to help them.

J.J. Watt left the Houston Texans in good position with a 5-3 record when he tore his pectoral muscle in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 27.

In the seven games since, the Texans have compiled a 5-2 record and won the AFC South for the sixth time in franchise history, fourth time in five seasons, and also for the second straight year.

To miss out on a 26-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, see them get creamed 41-7 in Baltimore by the Ravens, and not be on the field for the 28-22 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football at NRG Stadium has been a combination of agony and excitement for the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

“It’s tough to watch, but it’s also fun for me to watch, because I love these guys,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “I mean, I love watching them play, I love watching them compete. I love when somebody makes a big play. I’m probably cheering louder than anybody else out there on my couch when we’re on the road and when we’re on the sideline at home. I get so excited.”

Part of what keeps Watt stoked about the Texans, even though he hasn’t been able to materially affect the on-field product, is the connection he has to the locker room.

“I truly love the locker room,” said Watt. “I truly love the guys and being around it. So, for me to watch it and to be able to take joy in their success is a lot of fun.”

Watt will have a chance to partake in the Texans’ success on the field as the club activated the All-Pro defensive end from injured reserve on Tuesday. Though Watt has 96.0 career sacks, he is hoping to add to his 5.0 postseason sack total en route to the Texans’ first playoff win since Jan. 7, 2017, over the Raiders at NRG Stadium.

J.J. Watt is certain Texans coaches will have a good plan for his return in the playoffs

DE J.J. Watt is confident the Houston Texans coaching staff will have a good plan in place to facilitate an effective return for the playoffs.

Defensive end J.J. Watt does not know what his return will look like when he takes the field for the Houston Texans in their inevitable wild-card game during the weekend of Jan. 4-5. However, he is confident in the plan the coaches devise when the playoff game arrives.

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year believes that the next two weeks of practice will determine how ready he is and how many plays he can handle to be an effective contributor for the Texans defense.

“I’m sure it’s not going to be an every play type of thing, just for the first one back,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “don’t think that would be the best situation, but we’ll see how it feels over the next two weeks and get a gauge for it before we go into that game and I’m sure we’ll have a good plan going in.”

Watt produced 24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, three pass deflections, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in his eight starts before sustain a torn pectoral muscle that seemingly knocked him out for the season. Now, Watt is eyeing a comeback to help the AFC South champions win a playoff game for the first time since Jan. 7, 2017 in the AFC wild-card against the Raiders.

What excites Watt about a return is the way the Texans have been playing en route to their 10-5 record.

Said Watt: “We’ve found ways to win, you find ways to win football games, and I’m excited to get back out there and to help in any way I can, obviously get after the passer. That’s always my number one goal is find the football, get the football, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do and that’s what I’m hoping to get back out there and help these guys do is get after the quarterback.”

The Texans’ defense has generated 31 sacks on the season, the eighth-lowest in the NFL. Only the Seattle Seahawks, with their third-lowest 26, join Houston as playoff teams in the bottom-10 of that category. Having Watt back to help with the pass rush may be the secret sauce to help the Texans go deep into the postseason.

How was Texans DE J.J. Watt able to avoid negativity from spoiling his playoff comeback?

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt surrounded himself with positive, uplifting people, and that helped him believe he could make a comeback.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders. The injury is one that is season-ending; ask outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

However, Watt never let the reality of the injury nor the negativity of having a third season of the last four end in injury affect his attempt at a comeback for the playoffs.

“I’m a much different person mentally now than when I came into the league,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “So you learn from things and you grow from things. You don’t let it get you down. I think that’s played a huge part in this one, just the positive attitude, positive people around me. Surrounding yourself with people who will lift you up in difficult times and will propel you towards the goals you want to achieve. I think that I’ve had that the whole time.”

However, it wasn’t just positive words from his fiancée Kealia Ohai, his family, or his teammates that helped him believe in the comeback. Watt also had to give himself positive words to generate the belief that he could execute a return for the postseason.

“Positive self-talk can make such a difference in your life and I think that’s helped me a lot throughout these injuries, and this one especially,” said Watt. “Just the belief that you can accomplish something really does make a difference and you kind of manifest it into reality and I think that’s definitely helped in this case.”

The Texans could use a case of that positive self-talk as they embark on a playoff run that will begin in the wild-card round. Since 1990, just 28 of the 116 wild-card round winners ended up winning in the divisional round of the playoffs, let alone making the Super Bowl. However, getting Watt back might be the catalyst Houston needs to make such an improbable journey.

The internet ruined J.J. Watt’s surprise for Texans teammates that he was coming back

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt says the internet informed his teammate of his return from injured reserve before he could.

Blame the internet.

J.J. Watt was keeping quiet the surprise that he was going to come back from injured reserve, but the internet and social media managed to inform his Houston Texans teammates before he had a chance on Tuesday before practice.

“There were a couple of them that found out from the internet today,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “You never want to over-promise and under-deliver, so I think this whole time I’ve never wanted to promise anything to anybody.”

Of course, even if the golden age of typewriters and print journalism, Watt’s teammates would have found out because their own eyes of what the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was doing around the building with his rehabilitation would lead them to believe he was making progress, no matter how quiet he tried to keep it.

“I just wanted to promise that I was going to work hard every single day for the possibility of coming back and that’s all I’ve done,” said Watt. “And I’m not promising anything today. All I’m promising is that I’m going back out on the practice field today and I get the opportunity to be back with my team and to work towards that first playoff game.”

Watt produced 24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in his eight starts until tearing his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders. Initially, it appeared that Watt’s season was over. However, tremendous progress after his surgery along with a low risk of re-injury and rehabilitation affecting his 2020 offseason compared to the high reward of helping Houston further into the postseason was too rich of an opportunity to pass up.

“I’m very thankful and grateful for the opportunity to be back on the field because this is the game I love and this is the opportunity that I love,” said Watt.

The Texans finish up the 2017 regular season with a Week 17 rematch with the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. Houston will play wild-card weekend, Jan. 4-5, with opponent, day, and time announced at halftime of the Sunday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

Texans DE J.J. Watt knows the risk he undertakes returning with a torn pectoral muscle

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is well aware of the risks in returning two months after tearing his pectoral muscle.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders at NRG Stadium. His season was over, and now it was going to be another long road of offseason rehabilitation to get ready for his 10th professional season.

However, the recovery from that surgery progressed better than he expected. Normally, it takes three months to return to form from such an injury and procedure, but Watt was feeling better after two months. Nonetheless, there is an element of risk involved coming back from injury so soon.

“When I discuss the element of risk, I mean there’s two options: it’s going to hold up or it’s not,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “That’s basically the way she goes, and the reason that I’m comfortable with that risk is because I know the consequences of that risk.”

Reports surfaced on Dec. 1 that the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year could make a comeback if the Texans reached the playoffs. Rules wise, it was possible given the fact the Texans still had a remaining designation to return for a player on injured reserve. Houston brought back Watt on Tuesday.

If the former 2011 first-round pick can’t hold up in the Texans’ wild-card playoff game at NRG Stadium during the weekend of Jan. 4-5, he will not have lost time in the offseason to rehab and get ready for 2020.

Said Watt: “It’s the exact same procedure, its three months recovery and we’re back in action. But I do feel very confident from what we’ve done in the weight room, from what we’ve done ballistically training, to where the strength level is compared to where it was before the injury. I’m very confident in the way that it has reacted.”

Unlike Watt’s herniated disc that ended his 2016 season and his tibial plateau fracture that cut short his 2017 season, the torn pectoral has no affect on his ability to run or take part in agility or position drills, which means he should be able to contribute immediately for Houston.

“The nice thing about this surgery was that this whole time I’ve been able to run, I’ve been able to work out my legs, I’ve been able to do agility drills, position drills,” said Watt. “So that has been a huge help both mentally and physically for this recovery. So I’m really excited about what I’m going to be able to do and to get out there and help the boys.”

Before the Texans can get to the playoffs, they have to finish off the regular season with a Week 17 rematch with the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. While a win secures the No. 6 seed for the Titans, the outcome has no material impact on the Texans’ ability to get out of wild-card weekend and achieve a first-round bye.

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Texans DE J.J. Watt outlines plan to return for the playoffs

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has a plan in place for how he will return to help the team in the playoffs.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt made a December football miracle come true as he came off of injured reserve and rejoined the team at practice Tuesday.

Though Watt has the credentials and the impact to affect positive change for the Texans’ defense when the club plays its wild-card playoff game at NRG Stadium of the weekend of Jan. 4-5, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year can’t simply show up on game day and picked up where he left off after tearing his pectoral muscle in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 27.

“I’ll practice this week and work my way back into practice and obviously next week continue to practice and then get ready for the playoff game,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “But I’ll start today working my way back into practice, not going crazy with it, but easing my way back in. Then throughout the rest of this week and then obviously next week, practice leading up to the playoff game.”

The Texans face the Tennessee Titans Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium. The game is consequential for the Titans as a win ensures their spot as the No. 6 seed, the last spot remaining, in the AFC playoffs. However, for the Texans, a win would not get them out of wild-card weekend and into a first-round bye. In fact, to move up and be the No. 3 seed, which could mean a rematch with the Titans or facing the Raiders or Pittsburgh Steelers by some sort of tiebreaker luck, the Texans would have to beat the Titans and hope for a Kansas City Chiefs loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The risk is not worth the reward, especially when the goal is for Watt to return for the postseason.

“I mean obviously that’s the plan, that’s the goal,” said Watt. “Today’s my first day on the practice field so we have to make sure that that goes as well as we expect it to and just progress from there.

“But yes, the plan is for the first playoff game.”

J.J. Watt says the decision wasn’t difficult to return to Texans for the playoffs

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt says the decision to return to the team wasn’t difficult, even though there is some medical risk involved.

J.J. Watt tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 shortly before halftime in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders at NRG Stadium.

When it was discovered Watt sustained this injury, he presumed, along with the rest of the world, that his 2019 season had summarily ended. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year had his third season in the last four stopped short with a season-ending injury.

Watt was not formulating a comeback whatsoever.

“I didn’t even know that there was a possibility, and then literally a couple of days after the surgery I was feeling so good that I just started asking questions,” Watt told reporters Tuesday at NRG Stadium. “I said, ‘Is it remotely possible?’ We left the door open for a possibility and from there it was just literally day-by-day, just work, doing whatever I could do and we arrived to here.”

News that Watt could return to the Texans hit on Dec. 1, the same day they would take on the New England Patriots and prevail 28-22 on Sunday Night Football in Houston. The Texans still had their final return designation from injured reserve available in Week 13.

On Dec. 16, the Monday after the Texans beat the Tennessee Titans 20-17 at Nissan Stadium to take commanding lead of the AFC South, it started to build that Watt could have a legitimate shot at returning for the playoffs.

“I wouldn’t call it a difficult decision, no,” said Watt. “I mean I get a chance to play in the playoffs with my team and go out there and try and help us win football games. So to me, that’ll never be a difficult decision.”

Before his injury, Watt collected 24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in his eight starts.

Said Watt: “There’s obviously an element of risk involved that I understand and we understand, but to me, the opportunity to play in the playoffs, the opportunity to try and help this team win football games, there’s nothing that I want more and there’s nothing that — it’s built into me, I just want to be on the field with the guys and I feel really good.

“We’ve worked extremely hard at rehab, we’ve had a very smooth process and everything has been going extremely well. So I’m really, really excited to get back on the field with everybody and to be back out there helping my team and playing for this city.”

The Texans face the Titans in a Week 17 rematch at NRG Stadium. Watt is not expected to play as the game has no material impact on the Texans’ chances to obtain a first-round bye; they are locked in to wild-card weekend, and will play a home game in the first round of the playoffs on either Jan. 4 or 5.

A Christmas Miracle: Texans DE J.J. Watt designated to return from injured reserve

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been designated to return from injured reserve.

The Houston Texans got a treat in their stocking for Christmas to help with their impending playoff run.

According to multiple reports, defensive end J.J. Watt has been designed to return from injured reserve, and he returned to practice for the Texans on Tuesday.

Watt landed on IR when he tore his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a win over the Oakland Raiders. While it seemed that Watt would finish his ninth NFL season on IR, and have his season summarily ended for the third time in four seasons, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year’s return ensures that will not be the case.

The Texans host the Tennessee Titans for a Week 17 season finale at NRG Stadium. It is unlikely Watt will return in that contest. The Texans are locked in to wild-card weekend, and he will more than likely return for their postseason game set for Jan. 4 or 5.