With the 2017 NFL season at the midway point, the Houston Texans were looking to get better as the season progresses. They are currently in third place at 3-4 in the AFC South and seemed to be doing better. However, all of the Texans hopes of getting to first place are in jeopardy after hearing the rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL on a non-contact play during practice on Thursday and will miss the remainder of the season.

Rookie sensation

Coming off a historic career as the signal caller for the Clemson Tigers, during which he led the Tigers to the national championship game two times, winning in 2016 against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Watson was taken by the Texans in the 2017 NFL draft as the 12th overall pick.

At the beginning of the regular season, quarterback Tom Savage was selected to be the starter for opening day against the Jacksonville Jaguars. From the start, the Jaguars controlled the game and by the half were leading 19-0. Savage struggled his whole time on the field, completing only 7 of 13 passes for 62 yards and the Jaguars sacked him six times.

Head coach Bill O'Brien decided to start Deshaun Watson for the second half and bench Savage. For the rest of the game, the Texans did a little better when in the third quarter with 9:12 remaining, Watson connected with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a four-yard touchdown pass to get the Texans on the board. That would be the only points the Texans could contribute as they lost to the Jaguars, 29-7.

Watson finished the game going 12 for 23 in pass attempts for 102 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

In week two's match-up against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road, Watson got the start for the first time. Even though the Texans won 13-9, he did not have a strong showing, completing 15 of 24 passes for 125 yards and no touchdowns.

The rest of the season, however, he has been on fire and shown that he is a future NFL star for years to come. Through weeks four through eight, Watson has thrown for three or more touchdowns each game, including tying the record for most in a game by a rookie with 5, which he did in a 42-34 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In Watson's latest game against the Seattle Seahawks, he completed 19 of 30 passes for 402 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions in a close game that saw the Seahawks come back in the fourth quarter to win, 41-38.

With Watson at the helm, the Texans future looked bright, until he tore his ACL and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Whats next for the Texans?

With Watson ruled out indefinitely and needing surgery, the Texans will have to rely on Savage to be the starter. In his third season, Savage has not seen a lot of action and has only started three games thus far and hasn't thrown any touchdowns. The team is having lots of bad luck this season as lot of players are out with injury, including star defensive end J.J. Watt. With a lot more games to play, the Texans have to play hard and try to do their best if they want to make it to the playoffs.
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