J.J. Watt’s return from injury is exactly what the Texans needed in the playoffs

There isn’t a more important player on the Texans defense than defensive end J.J. Watt. The All-Pro defender made headlines by coming back from a torn pectoral much quicker than anybody anticipated, having sustained the injury on Oct. 27 before quickly being put on injured reserve.

It was a surprise when the Texans talked about activating Watt from injured reserve for the playoffs. Then they did it just a few days before hosting the Bills in the Wild Card Round.

What wasn’t surprising was Watt having a big game. Playing with a weighty brace on his arm, Watt was out there for the opening series and was clearly the de-facto motivator on the sidelines as well.

He elevated the defense, while quarterback Deshaun Watson did the same for the offense, with late heroics on an impossibly clutch play. When it looked like the game was out of reach for the Texans, Watt and Watson dug deep and put the team on their backs.

Let’s talk about Watt’s big play that sparked the comeback.

With the Bills up, 13-0, and facing a third-and-8 from the Houston 12-yard-line halfway through the third quarter, Watt blazed past right tackle Cody Ford to sack Josh Allen for an 8-yard loss.

It was a beauty:

And other than his brother, T.J., being extremely excited for him, the play jump-started Houston’s comeback. After the Buffalo field goal, the Texans drove 75 yards on nine plays before Watson rushed for a 20-yard touchdown. They quickly nailed the two-point conversion.

Early in the game, Watt nearly intercepted a Josh Allen pass that went through his hands. It was an athletic play, one that Watt absolutely wanted back because the ball actually went perfectly through the gap in his arms.

Fortunately, that play was a third down the Bills had little chance of converting, so his miss didn’t change much. Still, it was a good sign early in the game that he was moving so well.

In the fourth quarter, Watt pressured Allen on a third-and-4 to cause an incomplete pass that gave Houston the ball back down one score. The Texans went down the field to score and take the lead.

With the Texans leading and just over four minutes on the clock, the Bills broke a big 38-yard play to immediately put themselves back in the game. But what followed was two huge plays from Watt.

Watt got huge pressure to force an incompletion on first down with just over two minutes on the clock, and it was a big one:

On second down, Watt and Mike Adams broke through the line and tackled Frank Gore for a loss of yardage. That set up a big third down where Allen ate another sack.

Buffalo would get the ball back to score and send it to overtime, where Watt had a couple more plays where he got pressure on Allen.

But it was the game-changing sack in the third quarter that defined his return. Houston would go on to win the game, 22-19.

Afterward during the on-field interview, he was asked if games like that were why he rushed back from his injury.

“This is why you come back,” he said to Lisa Salters. “I don’t know if I meant to come back for this many plays or this much extra time, but these feelings, these emotions, these fans, these players, Deshaun Watson, and all the guys on this team ... this is why you come back.”

While the Texans obviously don’t want to be in a position where they’re down by multiple scores, Watt says his team thrives when one of their stars are able to step up and make a big play.

“All we needed was a play to start, once it gets started, let our guys do our thing,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of talent, a ton of guys who know what they’re doing, and we’ve got one hell of a quarterback.”

Watt gave them the spark they needed to turn things around, while other playmakers like Watson stepped up to get it done in the end.

The defensive end was much more succinct on Twitter after the game:

The Texans are now into the Divisional Round.