The Texans were able to win the AFC South and win a playoff game last year despite the absence of defensive end J.J. Watt after he had back surgery early in the season.
One of the reasons why Watt’s absence didn’t drag the Texans down was the play of Jadeveon Clowney. The top pick of the 2014 draft had his healthiest season and, not coincidentally, his most productive season since entering the league and that has led to a lot of interest in seeing what the duo can do when they’re on the field at the same time.
“It’s crazy,” Clowney said, via the Houston Chronicle. “I’m looking forward to it. When I was healthy, when I got healthy, he got hurt. When he was healthy, I was hurt. We’ve never really been on the field together at the same time healthy. I feel like we can all be out there together, me and him and the rest of guys and just stay healthy, we’re going to be a special defense.”
The defense hasn’t been a problem in Houston for some time and, even if the pairing lives up to the grandest of expectations, the outlook for the team will continue to hinge on their ability to solve their conundrum at quarterback in a way that lifts their offense to similar heights.