Just one week ago, quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans had his worst day as a professional. On Sunday, he showed why he is one of the best up-and-coming signal-callers in the National Football League (NFL).
Deshaun Watson threw for 426 passing yards and tossed five touchdowns in the Texans’ 53-32 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He also rushed for 47 yards and had only five incomplete passes.
The Falcons were actually ahead 17-16 at the half, but Houston took the second-half kickoff and drove 75 yards on seven plays and went up on a one-yard plunge by Carlos Hyde.
On the next three drives, the Texans scored on a field goal and then two short touchdown passes to tight end Darrell Fells. In the fourth quarter, Watson hit receiver Will Fuller with a TD throw of 44 yards, his third touchdown catch of the game.
For the season, Watson is 110 completions on 159 attempts with 1,364 yards, 11 TDs, a single INT plus a 115.9 QB rating. He is currently ranked the league’s No. 10 quarterback. His 11 touchdown passes and passer rating are each ranked second in the league.
With the victory, the Texans are now 3-2-0 and are tied for first place in the AFC South Division with the Indianapolis Colts.
Since the beginning of the 2018 season, Watson has been the most sacked QB in the NFL (80). In Sunday’s game, he wasn’t sacked one time. Houston’s offensive line has now had five games to gel, and are finally giving the former Clemson QB time to find open receivers.
The Atlanta game also marked the first time Watson has had a pressure rate of under 10% of his throws (6.1) in his career. The result ended with 592 total yards of offense for Houston.
After the game at the Texans press conference, Watson said:
"“Will Fuller is a prime receiver, too. When you get Kenny Stills who can run, a tight end and a running back that can catch, this offense can be very scary.”"
If you made a list of the elite NFL quarterbacks, Watson’s name would likely be omitted, but he is working hard to change that.