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Houston Texans: Four things to watch to gauge Deshaun Watson’s health

By Brian K. Patterson

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 30: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - SEPTEMBER 30: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Houston Texans before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images) /
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Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has suffered a chest/rib injury from last week’s tilt. How will he hold up? Here are four tendencies to watch.

The Houston Texans haven’t been at .500 since Oct. 15, 2017 when they were 3-3 after a 33-17 romp over the Cleveland Browns.  Ahhhh…those were the days, when Deshaun Watson was helping this team score 30+ points on the board per game and the team didn’t have care in the world about striking big in the red zone.

Fast forward to today’s offense anchored by the same dynamic QB but this team remains 31st in red zone offense with a 1-for-5 performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.  They’ll get it together but sure want to see that old offense we saw in those six full starts that Watson had because that was some damn exciting football.

But any way, with all of the hits that Watson took, he came out last week’s game hobbled, suffering from chest and rib injuries that had us all wondering if Brandon Weeden was going to have to start today’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

That’s not the case as Watson has been declared active for this game and I still feel that he’ll be effective in this team’s ever-going march to get back in the AFC South race.

If you’re tuning into the game on your TV or partaking the team at NRG Stadium today, here are three things to keep an eye on in regard to how his injury could impact his effectiveness:

How often is he throwing the deep ball?

Watson got the Houston

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through the

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overtime period with a series of short, yet effective passes to keep those chains moving.  It helps that DeAndre Hopkins had the most spectacular yard-pickup of the season with his heralded 49-yard catch but DW4 was effective.  If he’s continuously habitual in throwing short passes of 10 yards or less, then that certainly means he’s still in a lot of pain.

  • Handoffs to Lamar Miller — Miller already is averaging 14.5 carries per game but that could actually increase today with Watson apprehensive about being too aggressive for the football.  I’d recommend you keep an eye on Miller’s touches and if Watson isn’t as right as we think he is, expect a busy day for the veteran running back.
  • Taking flight — Watson leads in the NFL among quarterbacks in rushing yards with 201 of those to his credit.  He’s averaging 40.2 yards per game on the ground and you wonder if he’ll curtail that a bit because of his injury and not wanting to take another brutal hit to his frame.  With exception of the game against the Indianapolis Colts — he only had six yards rushing — he has been close to 40-mark every game.  The Colts weren’t exerting a lot of pressure on the offensive line so this allowed Watson to stay in the pocket to wait patiently to make his decision.
  • Patience in the pocket — according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Deshaun leads all quarterbacks in the time it takes — 2.98 seconds — to throw for per pass attempt.  With this injury, is he trying to look to get rid of the ball quicker?  We’ll have to see how much of pass rush the Buffalo Bills could generate but there’s likely not going to be any regression in Watson holding that top spot.

    • Watson may be just fine out there despite the maladies but it’s important for you to keep an eye on these four things.  I know I will!

    Next. Texans: Three key starting players that are trending downward. dark

    Watson has thrown for 1,621 yards with eight touchdowns to five interceptions with a 65.1 percent completion rate through five games this season.

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