Two of the league’s most promising young quarterbacks dueled today when the Texans visited the Jets, and it was Deshaun Watson’s team who came out on top.
Both Watson and Sam Darnold were excellent in a back-and-forth game, but Watson had the advantage of having DeAndre Hopkins to throw to. Hopkins caught 10 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter, and the Texans won 29-22.
Watson finished 22-for-28 for 294 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. The big concern for the Texans is that Watson was sacked six times, and has now been sacked more than any quarterback in the NFL this season. The Texans need to keep Watson healthy, and that’s not the way to do it.
Darnold shook off a slow start and was outstanding for most of the game, engineering long drives, buying time with his feet and finding receivers in the end zone. They came up short in the end, but Darnold completed 23 of 37 passes for 237 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Texans are not officially in the playoffs, but at 10-4 there’s almost no scenario in which they don’t go. The Jets are going nowhere this season, and they fell to 4-10 with the loss.