Deshaun Watson and the Texans are doing a terrible job of protecting Deshaun Watson

It can be scary to watch Deshaun Watson play football. The Houston Texans quarterback, whose promising rookie season ended with an ACL tear, has taken a beating this year in his return to the field. On Sunday night, the Texans’ 19-16 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys was a microcosm of the issues Watson has faced.

He took massive hits all night long, appearing to re-injure his ribs — which he had hurt two weeks earlier against the Giants — during the game. Watson looked down for the count at the end of the fourth quarter when he got hit hard and had to go to the medical tent. He was quickly cleared, got himself together, and rallied Houston to victory.

But there isn’t really one aspect or person to blame for the pounding Watson has endured. It’s a combination of reckless play on Watson’s part, one of the worst offensive lines in the league protecting him, and some dangerous play-calling.

Through five games, Watson has been sacked 18 times. To put that in perspective, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who had been sacked on the fewest percentage of his dropbacks going into Sunday’s games, has been sacked just nine times in five games.

Whether it’s run blocking or pass blocking, the Texans haven’t been able to perform up front. Their tackle play has been abysmal and they almost got Watson seriously injured before they went into overtime against the Cowboys:

After trading Duane Brown last season, the Texans finished with the second-most sacks allowed in the NFL. It’s strange that they didn’t address their offensive line a little more during the offseason, either.

They added Seantrel Henderson, who is out for season with a broken ankle he suffered in Week 1. They drafted Martinas Rankin in the fourth round this year, but he struggled after missing all of training camp before being benched for the Cowboys game. Julie’n Davenport, their fourth-round pick from 2017, was benched after being flagged eight times in three games, but he was brought back to the starting lineup against Dallas.

The Texans are playing around with different lineups to see what combinations are effective for them. Watson was only sacked once against the Cowboys — an improvement — but he was hit 10 times and scrambled all throughout the night.

Watson will always be gambling playmaker on the field. It’s how he played in college, as a rookie, and despite his ACL injury a year ago, that mentality has carried over to now. He just has to do a better job of not taking unnecessary hits.

Three times in the first half, Watson tried to run over Cowboys defenders in short-yardage situations to no avail. Watson isn’t a big quarterback — he’s listed at 220 pounds — but it appears that Watson thinks he’s 40 pounds heavier than he is.

Take this goal-line play, for instance. Instead of just lobbing a throw to Will Fuller or Keke Coutee, who were right in front of him, Watson tried to bowl over the Cowboys defense. It’s fourth-and-goal with seconds left until halftime; an interception doesn’t matter in this situation. Throw the ball and keep your body safe.

There’s no real reason for Watson to be attempting these types of plays, even though he insists he can:

Houston has already seen what happens when Watson misses extended time. Last season, the Texans got stuck with Tom Savage and his 56.1 percent completion percentage and finished the season going 1-8 without Watson. If they were forced to play backups Joe Webb or Brandon Weeden this year, it would essentially tank their season.

The Texans head coach hasn’t exactly been a cautious — or good — play-caller with Watson.

Here’s Watson getting wrecked on second-and-goal, on a drive that ended in a field goal:

O’Brien later ran a designed run with Watson near the goal line, where he absolutely pummeled by Cowboys rookie linebacker Leighton Vander Esch. That drive also ended in a field goal.

O’Brien got a bit cute in close quarters, opting for shotgun looks when the Texans only had a yard to go. Given the state of the Texans’ offensive line, there’s no guaranteeing they would’ve been able to bulldoze their way over Dallas’ talented defensive line (they did get stuffed on a quarterback sneak), but O’Brien doesn’t need to put Watson in harm’s way as much as he has through the first five games.

After the game, O’Brien said the Texans “are who we are” when it came to their inability to keep Watson from taking big hits.

O’Brien also said Watson “enjoys that part of the game” when he was talking about Watson getting hit so much. That’s probably not a great strategy for the Texans and their young quarterback, nor does it absolve Watson of blame with the amount of punishment he takes.

Statistically, Watson had a great night against the Cowboys with 375 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He added 10 carries for 40 yards. There’s no doubt he has the game-breaking talent to be the Texans’ long-term starter and easily the best quarterback they’ve had in franchise history.

But he needs to stay on the field. And to do that, Watson and the Texans need to get on the right path and make sure he doesn’t get hurt in the future.