It wasn’t quite like Dak Prescott lighting up the Los Angeles Rams’ defense last preseason for the Dallas Cowboys, but any question that Deshaun Watson shouldn’t be the opening day starter for the Houston Texans were likely answered Wednesday night in Charlotte, N.C.
The Texans lost the preseason game to the Carolina Panthers 27-17, but nobody cares about that. What they do care about his how the quarterbacks on each team performed.
Now, to be fair, Watson played with the second unit and faced the Panthers’ second unit. Still, it’s hard to argue with what he delivered, finishing 15-of-25 for 179 yards and rushing three times for 24 yards and a touchdown. It was exciting and the best Houston’s offense has looked in years.
“He is a smart and distinctive player,” O’Brien said after the game. “First game out there I thought he did some big things. It is a big jump from college to the NFL. I thought he handled it pretty well. There are probably a couple of things that we could’ve done differently. He could’ve played a little bit better on certain plays, but overall I thought he handled himself pretty well for his first time out.”
Every @DeshaunWatson play from his preseason debut!#HOUvsCAR https://t.co/oOcqUQfFoD
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2017
“Distinctive?” I think O’Brien was trying to say “instinctive,” but whatever.
Watson played smart. He threw maybe one pass that was off, an overthrow to a tight end during his first series. He wasn’t afraid to throw the ball away and didn’t force anything. One of his best plays of the night, a scramble drill where he kept his eyes downfield and tossed a strike to a receiver on the sidelines was overturned because the wideout stepped out of bounds and came back in to make the catch. That won’t be a problem with the Texans’ starting unit out there.
“This is professional football,” Watson said. “The highest level of this sport. It’s a lot faster, bigger guys, smarter guys. At the same time, I am doing the same thing they’re doing. I’m watching film, trying to play fast also. At the end of the day, it’s still football. You have to go out there, operate, and do your job.”
Respect between QBs @CameronNewton & @deshaunwatson pic.twitter.com/lJIhZ4i4IG
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) August 9, 2017
Watson unquestionably did his job very well. I said all off-season that he was the best quarterback coming out in this year’s draft and before the preseason is over, it’ll be obvious to everybody.
So how did Tom Savage do?
Not horrible, but not great. He completed 9-of-11 passes, but he was overwhelmed early by Carolina’s pressure. It took three drives for him to lead the Texans to their first first down and most of the work on his drives was done by the running backs, Alfred Blue specifically who dragged two Panthers into the end zone with him for Houston’s first score.
https://twitter.com/rcthompson01/status/895473486872891398
Savage probably has a long career ahead of him as a back up quarterback. The sooner he picks up that clipboard, the better for the Texans.
Since we’re talking quarterbacks, we might as well look at what the Panthers put on the field. For those of you who don’t watch football and think that Colin Kaepernick is a better quarterback than Carolina back up Derek Anderson, I hope you watched Wednesday night. Anderson was fantastic, finishing 4-for-5 for 76 yards and a picture-perfect back-shoulder fade touchdown to the suddenly svelte Kelvin Benjamin.
Cam Newton was held out of the game due to soreness in his throwing arm, but this team is comfortable with Anderson and he knows how to run the scheme.
Derek Anderson right now #Panthers pic.twitter.com/nLoVgAdRbB
— Marcus Clendenin (@mmclende) August 9, 2017
Which only shows how significant a drop-off it was when No. 3 quarterback Joe Webb took the field. Now, in Webb’s defense of his roster spot, he’s a fast and talented guy. He’s played some wide receiver and worked on special teams in his NFL career. What he isn’t, not by a long shot, is an NFL quarterback. As a special teams ace and emergency QB, fine. As a guy that’s ever expected to step in and do anything at the quarterback position, he’s a guaranteed disaster.
He did have one nice play, a bomb to speedster Damier Byrd who likely won a spot in the starting line up Wednesday.
No. 4 quarterback Garrett Gilbert is just a camp arm and will likely be cut. He wasn’t terrible and could find his way onto another roster with a team that keeps three quarterbacks.
Other observations
Christian McCaffrey looks really good. I know the Panthers media has been hyping him up in camp, but Wednesday night’s game was in pads and he played some of it against last year’s top NFL defense. My concern with McCaffrey is his health at the NFL level, but if he can stay on the field he might be that offensive rookie of the year everyone has predicted.
Welcome to the NFL, @CMcCaffrey5!#HOUvsCAR https://t.co/LsNHYQWDxc
— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2017
The Texans are absolutely loaded at running back. In addition to last year’s starter Lamar Miller, they look like they’ve got a guy that could push him to the bench in Alfred Blue. Blue ran like a grown man against Carolina’s ones Wednesday and will be difficult to keep off the field. Rookie D’Onta Foreman and third year back Akeem Hunt also looked good anytime they were on the field.
Touchdown, @HoustonTexans!
16-yard run for Alfred Blue! #HOUvsCAR https://t.co/xRlUNS2hi0
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2017
The Panthers defensive front ate Houston’s offensive line alive. Whether this is an offensive line problem for the Texans or a potential dominating defensive line for Carolina, we’ll have to wait and see.
Other NFL News
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant has been cleared by the NFL to participate int he team’s practices and preseason games. Bryant was conditionally reinstated by the league in April after missing all last season with a substance abuse suspension. Back in 2015, Bryant caught 50 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns. The Steelers drafted Bryant in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Defensive tackle Kendall Langford is on the street after he failed his physical with the Indianapolis Colts and the team cut him Wednesday night. Langford had spent the early part of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform List with a knee injury he suffered last season. Last year Langford started and played in seven games, recording 10 tackles, one fumble recovery and two passes defended.
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