The Houston Texans won’t see the NFC East until 2022, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones saw enough of Deshaun Watson in 2019 to be impressed.
Jones was at the Houston Sports Awards to present a speech for the late Bob McNair’s lifetime achievement award. Prior to the event, Jones talked about how Watson amazed him in his third professional season.
“I’ve always been amazed by him,” Jones said via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “This year, I was especially impressed. I was impressed by him two years ago when he beat us in overtime. He’s an outstanding quarterback. It’s going to be a bright future for the Texans.”
In 2019, Watson had a lower passer rating than he did in 2018 (98.0 to 103.1) and even fewer wins (10 to 11). However, the two-time Pro Bowler notched five game-winning drives, the same as the year before, and added three more fourth quarter comebacks. Additionally, Watson led the Texans to signature wins in 2019 that let the football world know Houston compete with anyone; enter the 28-22 Sunday Night Football win versus the New England Patriots in Week 13 as just one of a myriad of exhibits.
However, the problem for the Texans, and one that Watson and his teammates will have to work on in 2020, is consistency. The Texans followed up their big win over the Patriots with a bewildering 38-24 loss to the Denver Broncos and rookie quarterback Drew Lock the week after. In the AFC divisional playoff loss at the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston had a 24-0 second quarter lead, and ended up losing 51-31 without so much as a fight or a volley on the scoreboard once the Chiefs finally got going.
If the Texans and Watson are able to get further than Jones’ Cowboys in 2020 and relegate the NFL team in Dallas as outsiders in the divisional round, Houston sports fans will have plenty more to celebrate when the next edition of the sports awards roll around.
