Houston Texans Preseason: 3 Takeaways vs Patriots

2. The anointing oil for Watson goes on the shelf

He came out after a strong outing in Week 1 and promptly led a three-and-out. It wasn’t what he hoped for and surely wasn’t what the coaching staff expected. Even less anticipated was how the struggles for rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson only got worse from there.

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He completed just 3-of-10 passes, although he was able to make the most of those passes by logging 102 yards (63 of which went to running back D’Onta Foreman, who did the heavy lifting). The Clemson product added another 10 yards on the ground and had a nice touchdown run, but overall it wasn’t impressive whatsoever.

That means that maybe the anointing oil being given out to the rookie after a good start should actually be put back on the shelf. Head coach Bill O’Brien has claimed over and over that Watson should be the backup, and Saturday made him look right.

Of course, there’s still a long way to go and 10 passes is a small sample size. This means that those wanting to anoint him after one game should relax, as should those wanting to cast him off for one bad game.

There’s a lot left to be told in the story of Deshaun Watson. Fortunately for him, he’s on a team with enough talent around him and there’s no reason to think he won’t be a viable NFL starter eventually. Just maybe we should wait on the Canton bust?