The Houston Texans lost pass-rushers J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus to season-ending injuries in their 42-34 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at NRG Stadium. Watt suffered a tibial plateau fracture in his left leg on the first drive, with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider saying that he will be out for the season and will be placed on injured reserve. Team staff helped the limping Watt off the field and taken to the sideline medical tent before he was carted to the Texans locker room. He was later taken to the hospital for further examination.
This is the second straight year that Watt suffered a season-ending injury before the Texans’ bye week. Last season, the All-Pro defensive end missed 13 games last season due to a back injury. According to Texans coach Bill O’Brien, he didn’t have enough information about Watt’s condition, but he expressed sadness about the fate of his star defensive player. Watt is a fan favorite due to his strong personality, but he became even closer to Texans fans and the community after he raised more than $37 million for relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the city.
Mercilus out with torn pectoral
Minutes after learning about Watt’s fate, the Texans also determined that Mercilus will also be out for the season due to torn pectoral, according to James Palmer of NFL Network.
Mercilus was pulled out on the seventh play of the game while Watt followed him to the sidelines seven plays later. With Watt and Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney leading their front seven, the Texans have one of the best teams of pass-rushers in the league.
While he failed to tally a sack this season, Watt led the Texans in total pressures with 11 and pressure percentage with 9.7 percent while Mercilus was fourth with three pressures.
In his first five seasons with the Texans, Mercilus tallied 37.5 sacks while he had 7.5 sacks last season. With the injuries to Watt and Mercilus and the 10-game suspension of Brian Cushing, the Texans are left with Jadeveon Clowney, Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson and Benardrick McKinney as reliable defensive stoppers for the rest of the season.
Chiefs outplayed Texans in first half en route to win
The Chiefs (5-0) remained as the only unbeaten team in the NFL after outplaying the Texans from the start. Kansas City raced to a 16-0 lead behind three field goals by Harrison Butker and Alex Smith’s eight-yard touchdown pass to Charcandrick West. The Texans cut the deficit to 16-7 after a Deshaun Watson’s six-yard scoring strike to DeAndre Hopkins, but Smith connected with West for a four-yard touchdown for a 23-7 lead at the break.
