HOUSTON _ Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson was nearly perfect against his former employers.
Watson, of Gainesville and a former Falcons' ballboy, led a dazzling offensive onslaught as the Texans amassed nearly 600 yards and posted a 53-32 victory on Sunday at NRG Stadium, the site of the Falcons infamous Super Bowl LI collapse.
Watson tossed five touchdown passes. The offensive fireworks featured wide receiver Will Fuller V, tight end Darren Fells and some timely running by Watson and running back Carlos Hyde.
After opening the game with a three-and-out, the Falcons' defense gave up scores on eight of the next nine Houston possessions: touchdown, touchdown, field goal, halftime, touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown and touchdown.
The Texans improved to 3-2, while the Falcons dropped to a disappointing 1-4.
Fuller, a first-round pick (21st overall) from Notre Dame in 2016, had a career-high in receptions (14) and yards (217) to go with three touchdowns.
After a muffed punt, the Falcons pulled within one score, 33-25 with 11:21 left in the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn't come up with a stop. The Texans marched 81 yards in nine plays, with Watson hitting Fells for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
The Falcons answered with another touchdown, a 29-yard pass to wide receiver Calvin Ridley to make it 40-32 with 3:22 to play.
The defense gave up another Houston touchdown, as Fuller beat cornerback Desmond Trufant for a 44-yard touchdown pass.
The Texans capped out the scoring when Tashaun Gipson Sr. returned an Ryan interception 79 yards for a touchdown with 24 seconds to play.
Watson shredded the defense for 426 yards passes as he completed 28 of 33 passes. He had a perfect passer rating of 158.3. The Texans rushed for 166 yards on 34 carries.
The Falcons were competitive early and held the halftime lead, but the defense unable to stop Watson.
After an exchange of punts to open the game, the Falcons were nearly off the field on third down-and-7 when Grady Jarrett flushed Watson out of the pocket. Vic Beasley missed him and collided with Adrian Clayborn.
The nifty Watson escaped, fumbled and then scooped his own fumble before running 15 yards for the first down.
Five plays later, Watson found Fuller open in the corner of the end zone.
The Falcons added a 35-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. On the kickoff, Wile kicked the ball out of bounds, which gave the Texans the ball at the 40-yard line.
The Texans took advantage of the gift yardage. Watson zipped the Texans down the field in six plays, capped with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Fuller. The Texans led 13-10 after kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the extra point wide left.
After the Falcons' next drive stalled, Fairbairn added a 50-yard field goal to make it 16-10.
The Falcons answered with a touchdown drive, as Ryan tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Freeman. The Falcons took a 17-16 halftime lead after the Texans ran out the final 22 seconds.
In the third quarter, the Texans used two big plays to help add a touchdown and a field goal to take control of the game.
Wide receiver Keke Coutee broke free up the seam of the Falcons' defense for a 51-yard gain, four plays later Hyde scored on a 1-yard touchdown.
After a Falcons' three-and-out, Watson broke loose for a 30-yard scramble to help set up Fairbairn for a 26-yard field goal to make it 26-17.
For the Falcons, it's going to be pretty hard to win while giving up nearly 600 yards.
The Falcons (1-4) will face the Arizona Cardinals (1-3-1) at 4:05 p.m. Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
