Houston Texans: J.J. Watt is back
By Jair Lopez
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt seems to be proving naysayers wrong and is having a vintage season.
Playing like no other, Houston Texans’ defensive star J.J. Watt has had an incredible start to his season with 20 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and six tackles for loss.
It is freakishly scary to say Watt isn’t simply in consideration for the 2018 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award, he is in the middle of the race for possibly his fourth Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
That is unheard of as Watt is currently tied as the winningest player of that prestigious award alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.
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Certainly, the Texans will have to win more games for him to be in consideration for these awards, but Watt has been a one-man wrecking crew since coming back from a serious leg injury that cut his season short in 2017. Watt is still shedding some rust after rarely playing football in two years, but he has already proven to be too good for one-on-one battles with opposing offensive linemen.
Watt is being double teamed and even tripled teamed at times. It’ll be intriguing to see him get better if health is on his side.
The Texans still have the potential to have a fearsome front seven. They have a devastating trio of pass rushers with Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus. Watt and Clowney have accounted for seven of the 11 sacks that the Texans have earned in the first four games of the regular season. There is a certain art of incorporating all three players making sure they complement each other and play good fundamental football.
The defense is still learning it each other’s strengths and weaknesses after an injury-plagued season in 2017. The Texans have revamped the safety position and are currently thin at cornerback, so there will be growing pains as they continue to make adjustments to make up for the shortcomings of the defense as a collective unit.
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With Watt showing that he is capable of playing to the similar level of before it is a great sign for the Texans and horrifying news for opposing offenses, but that is great news for the Texans.