For the Houston Texans in Week 7, arguably the biggest play of the game came with 6:47 to go in the second quarter. On a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, quarterback Deshaun Watson scrambled away from the hands of Indianapolis Colts defensive end Justin Houston and zipped a touchdown strike to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
However, referee Tony Corrente didn’t signal a touchdown after the play. He ruled Watson was in the grasp, sacked, and it was fourth down. Houston went from possibly taking a 10-7 lead to trailing by a point on the road in a first-place battle in the AFC South, one Houston would ultimately lose 30-23.
Coach Bill O’Brien would not talk about the officiating. However, while O’Brien may not comment publicly about the play, he did indicate that this will be a play the Texans will send in to the NFL for an explanation — clubs are allowed to submit up to 10 plays to the league offices per week.
“I will tell you the process of how we, of any game for any team, is that you have questions that you send in to the league associated with the video clip and then they give you answers back,” O’Brien explained. “That’s all I can tell you about that. That’s the process of how it works.”
How the league replies to the Texans won’t be made public, at least from the podium manned by O’Brien.
According to Watson, Corrente told the quarterback that he blew the play dead and called him in the grasp to protect his health.
