Words by Jason Cordner
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has gotten of to a tremendous rookie season after leading Clemson to last year’s national championship, reportedly suffered a torn ACL in practice on Thursday. Sadly, his remarkable and amazing rookie season is over.
Deshaun Watson went down on a normal drill, running a read option, on a grass field, per source. Didn’t yell, trainers took him off field.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 2, 2017
In October, the 22-year-old was the only player in the NFL to post a passer rating above 100.0 in every game. He threw five more touchdown passes (16) than any other first-year player has in a calendar month, breaking Dan Marino‘s record.
Watson became the first rookie QB in league history to be named AFC offensive player of the month. Combine that with the baseball team’s historic playoff run, and a flood-ravaged city that had not won a major sports title in Watson’s lifetime finally had reasons to celebrate. Then, this.
Over a span of six games, he’s thrown for 1,699 yards and is tied for the NFL lead with 19 passing touchdowns.
Texans will turn to Week 1 starter Tom Savage, who lost the job in that season opener after Watson quickly led Houston down the field for a pair of scores following Savage being pulled.
At 3-4, the Texans were still considered by many to be the favorite to capture the wide-open AFC South. Without Watson, their odds are considerably worse.
