Texans’ Quarterback Tom Savage Speaks Highly of Deshaun Watson

With Deshaun Watson now out with a season ending, right knee(ACL) injury, Tom Savage finds himself back under center for the Houston Texans. 

Deshaun Watson was having one of the best seasons in recent memory for a rookie quarterback or any quarterback for that matter, and became a “must see” player on Sundays. Now the Texans(3-4) will turn back to the veteran Savage.

Savage was initially named the starter after the preseason and started in the 29-7 season opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He completed only 7 of 13 passes for 62 yards and was replaced by Watson in the second half. Watson finished 13 of 23 for 102 yards with a touchdown pass, and he was subsequently named the starter for Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Before his injury, he had 1,699 passing yards, 21 total touchdowns and eight interceptions. The rookie is also leading the NFL in QBR(Total Quarterback Rating) tied for first with 19 passing touchdowns, and leads all quarterbacks in rushing yards.

“I’m going to just state the obvious, there’s some things that he can do, that I can’t do.”

Of course, it will be hard to replace what Watson has done. Just in the month of October, he passed for 1,171 and 16 touchdowns and rushed for 145 and one touchdown. Those statistics were good enough for AFC Offensive Player of the Month, and consequently, he became the first rookie quarterback to ever receive that honor.

On Friday, Savage met with the press to discuss Watson’s injury and his role as the new starter.

“You can’t really replace Deshaun Watson. You know what I mean. The kid’s been playing absolutely lights out.” Savage said. “But that’s not my job. My job is to go out and help this team win and do whatever I can to help.

Houston has the most explosive offense in the league with an average of 30.7 points(1st) and 3.3 touchdowns(tied for 1st) per game. Watson was the catalyst for their offensive success and receivers Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins, a former Clemson football standout, benefited from his presence and have combined for 14 touchdown receptions. So does Savage think the offense can continue on such a pace without Watson?

“I’m going to just state the obvious, there’s some things that he can do, that I can’t do,” he said, “He’s doing a really good job of throwing down the field and so really that’s kind of what you want, you want to keep doing. You want to keep letting these guys make some big plays for you.”

In a short time, Watson grabbed the attention of pro football fans with his play and his philanthropism. He has also stood out to his teammate for both of those things, and Savage alludes to them in his comments. He was very compassionate when speaking about Watson, the guy who ultimately placed him on the bench. As he spoke, he continuously sighed and paused with lament for his injured friend.

"I talked to Deshaun yesterday, and I told him that I got his back. I said it to him-listen, no one can replace you. It’s going to set him up for success in the future. On and off the field, I can’t say enough about the kid. He’s a tremendous player, a tremendous guy. To be honest with you, I was heartbroken as a friend with all this stuff. It was fun watching him."

As Watson begins his journey to get healthy for next season, Savage and the rest of his teammates will press on without him. Houston will face the Indianapolis Colts today at NRG Stadium 1:00 p.m. Eastern.