Deshaun Watson is taking a licking, though he keeps on ticking. Or something like that for those who remember the old Timex commercials.
The Texans quarterback, who had his rookie season prematurely ended by a torn ACL, has endured 17 sacks in four games this season. That puts him on pace to take 68 sacks this season, 14 more than the Texans allowed in 2017.
Watson has taken 43 hits this season, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, putting Watson on pace for 172 hits this season.
“He’s a very tough guy,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said, via Wilson. “You know, some of it can be concerning, but it’s some of the design of the plays. That’s what we do. He’s got good physical strength. There’s certain things that we do not want him to take a hit on. There’s other things that we do that he loves to do, and we like to call them, and that’s part of the way he plays.
“I think he’s really smart about it for the most part when you look at how he deals with those plays. He gets his pads down or he ducks out of bounds. He’s a very, very smart runner. So that’s something we try to build around.”
The Texans benched Julién Davenport, who had eight penalties in the first three games, last week and inserted Kendall Lamm at right tackle in hopes of improving their offensive line.
Houston will have its hands full this week with the Cowboys, who have 14 sacks, including a league-leading 5.5 by defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.