On Friday morning, the Houston Texans proceeded with their transition into a new era by releasing superstar defensive end J.J. Watt. In typical Texans fashion, the move was met with a lot of skepticism around the league as the Texans released Watt instead of pursuing draft compensation for his services.
The impact that J.J. Watt had on the Houston Texans franchise was enormous, and words can’t begin to adequately describe the profound impact that he had on the Houston community.
The franchise is undergoing tumultuous times, to say the least, and they will now have to right the ship without the steady, unifying leadership of Watt. Not only is J.J. Watt the greatest defender in the history of the Texans’ franchise, but he is also one of the greatest defenders in NFL history, period.
At his peak, Watt was simply unblockable. Watt spent nearly a decade terrorizing opposing backfields. He is the type of player that will be talked about for generations, and jerseys with the No. 99 on the back will never go out of style at NRG Stadium.
To an amazing player and an amazing person: Thank you, @JJWatt. pic.twitter.com/7zUiEYLOoN
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) February 12, 2021
The Houston Texans as a franchise are filled with uncertainty right now. While it is valid to be concerned and worried about the direction of the franchise, it is also important that J.J. Watt is given the exit that he deserves.
In this piece, we will do a quick review of five of the best games that Watt ever played for the Texans. It was more or less impossible to put together this list, as you could make the same list with five entirely different games than the ones included.
There’s a famous saying that reads “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Let’s take a look back on some better days for the Texans franchise, where J.J. Watt was performing and producing at historic levels.
5. J.J. Watt Memorable Games: Nov. 22, 2012 at Detroit Lions
By November of J.J. Watt’s sophomore season, he had already firmly established himself as a superstar. The 2012 campaign was arguably the best season of Watt’s career, as he tallied 20.5 sacks and a whopping 39 tackles for loss on his way to winning his first of three Defensive Player of the Year awards.
You could select a number of games from the 2012 season to add to this list, but my personal favorite was Watt’s Thanksgiving feast against the Detroit Lions.
Houston entered the matchup with one of the most impressive records in the league at 9-1. It did not seem like the 4-6 Lions would pose much of a threat to Houston’s playoff-bound roster.
What ensued was a Thanksgiving classic. The Houston Texans found themselves trailing by 10 points past the halfway mark of the third quarter, and they ended up pulling off a miraculous come-from-behind win in overtime.
As per standard, J.J. Watt was absolutely dominant in this matchup. The final tally was 10 total tackles with three sacks, two of which came in the fourth quarter. Watt also accumulated two pass deflections and five quarterback hits on the afternoon.
This was one of Watt’s many memorable performances during one of the best seasons in Texans’ history. Watching Watt lead the Texans defense to an improbable comeback win on national television was exhilarating.
4. J.J. Watt Memorable Games: Sept. 23, 2018 vs. New York Giants
The 2018 season was clouded with uncertainty, for both J.J. Watt and the Texans franchise as a whole. Houston had become playoff regulars throughout Watt’s time with the team, making the playoffs four times in his first six years from 2011-2016.
Watt only played three games in 2016 due to a back injury, then five games into the 2017 campaign Watt suffered a fracture in his leg which sidelined him for the rest of the campaign. The Texans responded with a dismal 4-12 mark.
The corresponding offseason was filled with media naysayers wondering if Watt would ever return to an All-Pro level again due to his growing list of injuries. The first couple weeks of the 2018 season may have provided a small bit of validity to those claims, as Watt was held without a sack in each of the first two weeks and the Texans were sitting at 0-2.
All of the critics and skeptics were hushed in Week 3. Watt had a monster performance against the New York Giants, tallying eight tackles with three sacks, and a forced fumble. While the Texans ultimately lost the game 27-22, the team then went on a run where they won nine games in a row to finish with an 11-5 record and another AFC South title.
J.J. Watt finished the 2018 season with 16 sacks and a career-high seven forced fumbles. He was named a first team All-Pro for the fifth time of his career, showing the skeptics that he still had plenty of gas left in the tank.
3. J.J. Watt Memorable Games: Jan. 3, 2016 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The 2016 season was another one of resilience for J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. In Week 7, the Texans were blown out by a mediocre Miami Dolphins team and fell to a record of 2-5. This led to many media pundits questioning the leadership of second-year coach Bill O’Brien, as the Texans seemed destined to make it two years in a row without a playoff berth.
The Texans responded by winning seven of their last nine games to clinch the AFC South championship. Watt was at his best in Week 17, when the Texans played host to the Jacksonville Jaguars with an AFC South title on the line.
Houston dominated the Jaguars in a 30-6 rout, and no player was better than J.J. Watt was. Watt had one of his vintage monster performances, compiling three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two pass deflections.
After surrendering 44 points to a six-win Dolphins team in Week 7, Houston’s defensive unit was one of the best in the league for the last half of the 2015 season, and Watt deserves a lot of credit for that emergence. Watt deservedly won his third Defensive Player of the Year award in 2015.
2. J.J. Watt Memorable Games: Oct. 9, 2014 vs. Indianapolis Colts
While the Houston Texans didn’t make the playoffs in 2014, the season was still largely seen as a positive one and a step in the right direction for the future. In Bill O’Brien’s first season as the head coach, the Texans improved their win total by seven games from the previous season.
J.J. Watt’s 2014 season was undoubtedly one of his best, as he finished with a whopping 20.5 sacks. Watt became the first player in NFL history to have 20 or more sacks in two consecutive seasons. In addition to all the sacks, Watt recorded 29 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, an interception and five total touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, Watt was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Numerous performances from the 2014 season could have been added to this list, but my personal favorite was the Week 6 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. While the Texans lost a thriller, Watt had an incredible game with two sacks and a fumble recovery that he returned 45 yards for a score.
The Colts had a young star quarterback on their hands in Andrew Luck, and fans of Indianapolis were becoming confident that they would be running the AFC South soon enough. But on this day, Watt reminded Luck and Colts supporters that he would continue to be a menace for the young signal-caller to deal with twice a year.
Another iconic moment of Watt’s career came two weeks earlier in the 2014 season against the Buffalo Bills. Watt intercepted E.J. Manuel and returned the ball 80 yards for a score.
It was this season where Watt really showed that he could do it all. Watt scored five times on the season, and three were receiving touchdowns.
1. J.J. Watt Memorable Games: Jan. 15, 2012 at Baltimore Ravens
J.J. Watt still remembers his first interaction with the Houston fanbase. When he was drafted in 2011, there are famous videos of Texans’ fans greeting the selection with loud boos. Watt was a converted tight end that only had 11.5 sacks in his collegiate career … was he really worth the 11th overall selection in the NFL Draft?
It didn’t take very long for Watt to hush these critics, and his breakout party was in the 2012 playoffs. The Texans finished the season with a 10-6 record which solidified them as AFC South champions. While Watt flashed plenty during the regular season, he totally burst onto the scene during the playoffs.
In the Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Bengals, J.J. Watt intercepted a pass late into the first half which he returned for a touchdown to give the Texans a 17-10 lead. The Bengals didn’t score the rest of the game as the Texans ended up with a resounding 31-10 triumph.
Watt was somehow even better in the next week. In the Divisional Round game against the Baltimore Ravens, Watt was an absolute force as he finished with 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks. While the Texans came up short in a defensive slugfest, these two games highlighted the emergence of Watt.
After the draft pick was met with skepticism and doubt, Watt put the rest of the league on notice. Watt built off the momentum he built for himself in the 2012 playoffs by winning three of the next four NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Any time your team loses in the playoffs it is disappointing, but the loss to Baltimore stung just a little bit less for the Texans as they realized they had a future superstar on their hands.