The Houston Texans posted 28 points on the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL in their convincing win over the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 13.
Then, the Texans couldn’t get past the 24-point barrier for the final four weeks of the regular season.
Looking for someone to blame? Blame quarterback Deshaun Watson. At least the two-time Pro Bowler knows why the Texans offense hasn’t scored more points in the final quarter of the season.
“My turnovers — that’s pretty much it,” Watson told reporters Tuesday. “You take those two turnovers from Tennessee, and then just miscommunication in Tampa Bay, and that’s pretty much it.
“In the Denver game, we didn’t get too many opportunities in the red zone, but yeah, if I don’t turn two balls over in Tennessee that’s 14 extra points and who knows how the game goes.”
In the Texans’ 24-21 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 15 at Nissan Stadium, Watson threw two red zone interceptions. Even if Watson didn’t throw one of them, Houston probably beats the Titans by at least six points if not 10.
Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Watson threw an interception and didn’t toss one passing touchdown at all. In the season finale against the Titans, Watson didn’t play as all the snaps were given to backup A.J. McCarron as an effort to rest starters for the wild-card bout with the Buffalo Bills.
As the Texans prepare for the Bills, Watson knows he has to get that issue resolved before taking on the league’s No. 2 scoring defense, which has given up a paltry 16.2 points per game.
“It’s something that we corrected, but I can’t worry about that and just play football,” Watson said. “Whatever happens, happens and we’ll move on from it.”
The Texans are 6-1 in games when they score 25-plus points compared to 4-5 when they score 24 or fewer.
