Deshaun Watson steps into spotlight, despite 36-33 loss to Patriots

Deshaun Watson didn’t have enough to match Tom Brady on Sunday, but the Houston Texans’ quarterback put together an impressive performance in 36-33 loss to the New England Patriots.

A week ago, Watson led the Texans to a 13-9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. While his record as a starter dropped to 1-1 on Sunday, his performance against the Patriots was much more impressive.

At the end of the game, Watson had completed 22 of his 33 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Brady finished with a ridiculous 378 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Texans’ defense wasn’t a disaster. There was a fumble recovery touchdown and two sacks from Jadeveon Clowney, as part of a day with five sacks and three forced fumbles. But that wasn’t too surprising.

Houston finished No. 1 in the NFL in yards allowed in 2016 and — while it held the Patriots in check at times Sunday — it still gave up 36 points. The more surprising element was how comfortable, poised and ready for the biggest moments Watson was.

Not much came easy for the quarterback. His first touchdown was a dart into a tight window that arrived to Bruce Ellington right on time.

His second found tight end Ryan Griffin in the back of the end zone with just enough room to get his feet down.

Watson wasn’t without mistakes on his big day. He threw a pass off his back foot that was easily intercepted by Stephon Gilmore. But he also threw back across his body for an ill-advised pass that worked out in his favor and a long gain.

C’est la vie in rookie land.

His second interception came on a Hail Mary in the final seconds.

But what was most impressive about Watson was his lack of panic. Behind a Texans offensive line that could’ve played much better, Watson was cool under pressure and made plays happen, including 41 rushing yards of his own.

Ultimately, the Texans couldn’t put the nail in the coffin with one last sustained drive to keep the ball out of the hands of Brady. That wasn’t due to a lack of effort from Watson, though. With pass rushers draped all over him early in the drive, Watson broke five tackles to connect on a pass that went for more than 30 yards and a first down.

The drive eventually resulted in a fourth down and the Texans settled for a field goal that gave Brady a little more than two minutes to steal a win. That’s exactly what he did with an unbelievable touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks.

Watson put up gaudy stats at Clemson, but his finest moments came in his national championship matchups against Alabama. That same leadership is already shining through in the NFL.

He gave the Texans reasons to be optimistic with his showing against the Bengals. But now its safe to say Houston should be excited about the team’s rookie quarterback, even if the team is 1-2 now.