Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson started to look like his stellar rookie self in a clutch win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4. Head coach Bill O'Brien feels his toughness is part of the reason why.
It goes without saying that Watson has endured his fair share of pressure from opposing defenses thus far in the 2018 NFL season. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, O'Brien had high praise for his durability:
“He’s a very tough guy,” O’Brien said. “You know, some of it can be concerning, but it’s some of the design of the plays. That’s what we do. He’s got good physical strength. There’s certain things that we do not want him to take a hit on. There’s other things that we do that he loves to do, and we like to call them, and that’s part of the way he plays.
O'Brien's comments may seem encouraging given Watson's injury history. He was sidelined after tearing his ACL last year amidst a spectacular rookie season. There was some concern regarding his durability moving forward.
However, it is clear Watson has been able to sustain all the hits he has taken, and there have been a lot of them. Opposing defenders have already sacked Watson 17 times, and he has taken 43 hits through the first four games of the season. Although he struggled to find his footing early on, his 375-yard performance against the Colts shows he has started to get a rhythm going.
Regardless of how “tough” Watson is, O'Brien would still be wise to take every precaution he can to prevent him from taking so many hits. History has proven what can happen when teams do not take care of their franchise quarterback. They just played against one in Indianapolis who finally came back after a one-year hiatus due to injury.
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