The Houston Texans have two major hurdles left to overcome as a franchise, and Deshaun Watson is the key to overcoming both of them.
Right now, the Houston Texans have time on their side.
As the youngest franchise in the NFL (they played their first season in 2002), it’s hard to fault the Texans for having never appeared in a Super Bowl. It’s an ignominious distinction shared by only three other teams among the 32 currently active franchises: the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns, and Detroit Lions.
When you expand the category to include NFL teams that have appeared in a Super Bowl but never won one, the list grows to include the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee Titans.
Do the math, and you’ll realize that only 20 of the league’s 32 teams have won a Super Bowl championship.
Still, math also tells us that 28 of those same 32 teams have at least had the opportunity to try and win one on the game’s greatest stage.
Teams as new as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976), Seattle Seahawks (1976), and Baltimore Ravens (1996) have all both appeared in and won Super Bowl titles at this point.
So when will it be the Houston Texans’ turn to rewrite history and remove their name from the list of teams that have yet to make it to the Super Bowl? And when will they get to remove their name from the list of teams that have yet to win it?
Deshaun Watson is a generational-type talent at quarterback
The key to answering this question is Deshaun Watson.
Watson is a generational-type talent and a proven winner. As NFL.com’s Grant Gordon pointed out recently, Watson had the moxie and the drive to capture championships at both the high school and collegiate levels before turning pro in 2017.
All that eludes him now is a title as a professional … and Watson knows it:
"“That’s top priority, yeah, for sure. I’m trying to pull a big three. I won a state championship, won a national championship. So, of course, I’m trying to get a Super Bowl. I’m trying to, of course, be legendary. That’s my word since college. For me to be that, I have to win a Super Bowl, and definitely win it with the Houston Texans.”"
Deshaun Watson knows that it will be up to him to change the Houston Texans’ history forever — he represents their best shot at appearing in and then winning a Super Bowl championship.
"“We’ve never won one here before, we haven’t even came on the brink, of winning one. We gotta get to that game before that and then, of course, we can think about that,” said Watson. “I’m trying to create history and continue that and make it a dynasty.”"
The Texans have never had a quarterback like Watson before … and it could be years before they have a quarterback like Watson again. They need to capitalize on this window of opportunity before it’s too late.