Rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew had to sub in quickly for Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles during the team’s 40-26 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Foles broke his collarbone in the first quarter, and the sixth-rounder from Washington State had to finish the game.
For Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, it reminds him of his 2017 debut in the NFL. In Week 1, coincidentally against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Liberty White Out home opener at NRG Stadium. Watson spelled starter Tom Savage, who was ineffective against the Jaguars, going 7-of-13 for 62 yards and taking six sacks and losing two fumbles. Coach Bill O’Brien inserted the rookie first-rounder from Clemson at halftime down 19-0.
Watson recalled for the Houston media Wednesday just what that first NFL action was like on Sept. 10, 2017.
“Doing things that’s comfortable for myself, that I was getting in a routine, getting in a rhythm, just trying to get my feet wet and try to manage the game and not put me in certain situations that I wasn’t comfortable in or we didn’t work on,” Watson said.
What the Pro Bowl quarterback saw from Minshew’s stat line of 22-for-25 with 275 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception is that the rookie helped the Jaguars offense move down the field.
Said Watson: “I mean, the stats for himself, he did a good job for them to try to at least be in the game as much as they can and to have that offense continue to go like they wanted to.”
Coming off the bench and starting are two different things, and Watson says it relates to the energy.
“It’s just a different energy from coming off the bench where everyone has been focused on you,” Watson explained. “The tape and everyone’s been focused on everything that you’re good at, what your weaknesses are throughout the week. They have all day to focus on those things and try to put a game plan around you.”
That is the situation Minshew finds himself in. Romeo Crennel’s game plan involves the rookie. Even in 2017 for Houston, there was at least the facade of ambiguity as to who would start Week 2 for the Texans in their Thursday nighter at Cincinnati.
With the Jaguars, it’s pretty simple: Foles isn’t an option.
“It’s a different type of feel that most guys can handle and most guys can’t,” Watson said.
