J.J. Watt chose the right time to come back.
When the Houston Texans desperately needed him — in an AFC wild-card matchup against the Buffalo Bills — they got him.
The Texans saw Watt speed up his recovery of a torn pectoral into two months, culminating in a dominant second half, with Bills quarterback Josh Allen as the recipient.
“He made some good plays, especially when they needed them,” Allen said on Saturday. “He’s a tremendous football player. He’s been playing at a high level for a very long time. I think our guys did a good job with him, but he did make a couple plays that ultimately cost us six. He got the sack early in the red zone there, and if we — he’s a good player. There’s nothing else to say.”
Watt played most of the first half as a situational pass rusher, coming in on third downs and obvious passing downs. However, with the Texans entering halftime down 13-0, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year couldn’t help himself from playing.
By the fourth quarter, it was the “J.J. Watt Show.”
With 6:46 minutes left in the third quarter, with the Texans down 13 defending the Bills at third-and-8, Watt stepped up. He recorded the first and only sack of his comeback, taking Allen down in 3.3 seconds, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
“It was a huge play,” Watt said. “We were saying the whole game up until that point, we just need a play. We just need a play. We just need a spark. I’m just thankful I was able to provide it.”
The sack changed the fate of the Texans. Houston stormed back, scoring 19 unanswered before the Bills forced overtime. From there, Allen didn’t look the same. Watt’s quarterback Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, didn’t either. He took Watt’s step-up and bested it, performing as if he were Michael Jordan himself.
