Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has played fabulously despite the team’s 4-8 record. The two-time Pro Bowler leads the NFL with 8.8 yards per pass attempt and is second only to Patrick Mahomes with 3,542 passing yards.
According to Pro Football Focus, Watson is the third-best quarterback in their grading system, an interesting nugget that slipped out in the analytics firm’s Week 14 previews.
But while Watson has played better than he ever has this season, the Texans have been far from dominant. You can point to one of the worst defenses in the NFL and a weakened supporting cast offensively — along with a less-than-impressive offensive scheme — as the major reasons why. Watson ranks third in the league in PFF grade at quarterback, behind Aaron Rodgers and Mahomes. Since Week 5, his 8.8 passing yards per attempt leads the NFL. Yet, Houston still sits at just 4-8.
It’s a rare situation where elite quarterback play has not been enough to elevate a team to at least mediocrity, but Watson’s presence alone makes that Houston job desirable for potential coaching candidates. If Matt Nagy doesn’t end up keeping his job, the same can’t be said for Chicago, and you can point back to that 2017 NFL Draft as the reason why.
Watson’s play is one of the few reasons that the Texans are still a compelling story despite their eight losses. His high level of play is also the best advertisement the Texans organization could throw out there to entice coaching candidates to come to Houston. Who wouldn’t want to work with a quarterback that was top-3 in the league according to Pro Football Focus? While PFF may not be the be-all and end-all of football intelligence, they are a good bellwether. It isn’t like No. 4 behind Watson is Drew Lock. Watson’s ranking with Pro Football Focus proves the organization wasted a great year from their franchise quarterback, and they need to make the right coaching hire to ensure it doesn’t happen again.