In his first three seasons as the head coach of the Houston Texans, Bill O’Brien’s team has been astoundingly consistent. There was a 9-7 finish in 2014 followed by a 9-7 record and an AFC South title one year later. And yes, 2016 brought another 9-7 record and the top spot in the division once again. The team has been loaded the last few years on defense with stars such as J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney – to name a few. Meanwhile, the offense took a back seat the past three seasons and understandably so. That’s what happens where you go through eight different starting quarterbacks in a three-season span.

Eventually, that number was going to reach nine. That’s because, in April, general manager Rick Smith swung a deal that enabled the Texans to move up and get the leader of the 2016 national champion Clemson Tigers. Quarterback Deshaun Watson was selected by the team with the 12th overall pick. Now firmly entrenched as the team’s starter, Houston hasn’t had any problems reaching the end zone.

Slowly but surely

In Week 1, the Houston Texans hosted the rival Jacksonville Jaguars and it was quarterback Tom Savage at the helm for O’Brien’s club. To say that the first half of that game was a disaster would be simply a matter of being polite. Savage was sacked six times behind a short-handed offensive line.

In the second quarter he not only fumbled twice but one of those two turnovers was returned for a score. And Houston totaled a mere 52 yards of offense.

Enter Watson, who couldn’t rally the team to a win but did lead the team to its first touchdown of the season. Four days after the 29-7 loss, he made his first NFL start and led Texans to a 13-9 win at Cincinnati.

Since then, Houston has split its last four games. The club fell in shootouts to the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. But the Texans also embarrassed the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. Houston is off this week so it’s a good time for a little retrospect when it comes to Watson and this offense in general.

When you’re hot, you’re hot

This season, the Houston Texans have already scored 18 offensive touchdowns in six contests. This was a club whose offensive unit managed only 23 trips to the end zone in 16 regular-season games. Last Sunday’s win over the Browns marked the fourth consecutive game that the team put at least 33 points on the board. Watson has thrown for at least two scores in each of those games and has three or more touchdown tosses in three straight outings. All told, he’s thrown 15 TD passes and five interceptions in six games in ’17. A year ago, Texans’ starting quarterbacks Brock Osweiler (15-16) and Tom Savage (0-0) combined for 15 TD passes and 16 picks during the regular season. It’s safe to say that the offensive evolution for the Texans is in full swing.
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