The Houston Texans suffered a narrow defeat at hand of the New Orleans Saints in Week 1, falling 30-27 on a long field goal with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The margin between winning and losing in the NFL can be razor thin. Just one more snap going in the Texans' favor could have been the difference between them staking a claim as legitimate Super Bowl contenders with the league's most impressive season-opening win, and sitting at 0-1 in the standings.
Making those matters especially difficult for Houston fans is that their team's best player failed to make anything close to his normal level of impact. J.J. Watt didn't record a single statistic against New Orleans despite playing 60 snaps, tied for the team lead on defense. Rather than dwell on his rare struggles, though, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year's focus is solely on the future.
“I’ve had bad games before and I’ll have bad games again,” Watt said, per Mark Lane of Texans Wire. “People like to focus on it, and I don’t blame them. I understand… I’m focused on Jacksonville.“It’s my job to go out there and not do that again, so that’s what I’ll do.”
Sunday's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars presents a golden opportunity for Watt to produce at the level he's normally accustomed. They're starting rookie sixth-rounder Gardner Minshew at quarterback in place of the injured Nick Foles, and lack experience on the offensive line.
Needless to say, expect Watt to have a big game in Week 2.
Follow Us
Subscribe