The Houston Texans have nowhere to go but down.
According to Mark Schofield of the Touchdown Wire, the Texans dropped to No. 28 in the power rankings after taking a 36-7 loss to the Chicago Bears in Week 14. Houston was No. 24 heading into the week, coming off a 26-20 heartbreaker to the Indianapolis Colts.
In this matchup of 2017 first-round quarterbacks it was Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears who had the advantage early, with Chicago racing out to a quick 14-0 lead. But you knew that Deshaun Watson would respond, and he did, connecting with Keke Coutee on this red zone touchdown to slice into Chicago’s advantage:
Watson and Coutee put the Texans on the board. #WeAreTexans
📺: #HOUvsCHI on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/tvMsTDEOAi pic.twitter.com/AbMhbPfBIP— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2020
This play is quintessential Watson with shades of “The Catch” and Joe Montana. Watson slides to his right in the pocket, flashes the football to get the pressuring defender to leave his feet, and then slides back to the left before finding Coutee for the score.
Unfortunately for Houston, Watson cannot play defense.
Trubisky carved up the Texans in the first half, throwing a trio of TDs, and the Bears got out to a 30-7 lead at the break. During the halftime show on CBS Bill Cowher might have delivered the line of the week:
Phil Simms: "What'd you call the Houston defense?"
Bill Cowher: "I called them the Washington Generals."
Yikes.
— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) December 13, 2020
The situation did not improve in the second half, as Watson limped to the sidelines with an injury and suffered more punishment and dropped passes in the end zone.
Protecting Watson as the Texans look to rebuild is critical, and at some point you wonder if sitting him down would be a wise decision for the organization. Running him out there to withstand the kind of punishment he endured Sunday might just be the latest in a long string of poor decisions. For his sake, it might be time.
The Indianapolis Colts jumped from No. 7 to No. 4. The Tennessee Titans saw no change as they hold forth at No. 10. The Jacksonville Jaguars stayed at No. 31, and will continue to do so as the winless New York Jets take losses.