Houston Texans: Key takeaways from disappointing Week 2 loss

1. Houston Texans Takeaways: Deshaun Watson has played well, but not like the MVP candidate we expected

Deshaun Watson is the best player on the Houston Texans’ roster without any shadow of a doubt, but he needs to play better than his already superhuman-like effort for the team to have any kind of success in 2020.

Through two weeks, Deshaun Watson has totaled 66.2 percent accuracy, 528 yards passing, 44 rushing, three total touchdowns, and two interceptions. Watson’s failed attempt on fourth-and-1 in the first half against Baltimore changed the landscape of the game and the diving Marcus Peters interception isn’t 100 percent on him but could have been avoided.

Watson has seen a startling 57 pressures through two weeks, and part of that is because of the poor play of second-year guard Max Scharping, who was benched in favor of Senio Kelemente. As if things couldn’t get any worse, the Texans now travel to Pittsburgh for a matchup with the two younger Watt brothers and one of the most intimidating defenses in the league.

An 0-3 hole is entirely possible, but to come out victorious would require Watson’s best game of the season.

Will Fuller’s health plays a huge factor, Duke Johnson’s availability will alleviate some of the pressure off of David Johnson (YPC decreased from 7.0 to 3.1 in his absence), and making smarter reads across the field is a must.

It’s hard to fault a team that lost to the Top 2 seeds in the AFC from a year ago, but this is obviously not the start that Texans’ fans hoped to see this year.