Deshaun Watson is something else.
The Houston Texans rookie had himself yet another incredible afternoon Sunday, even as his team fell short in an instant-classic 41-38 loss to the Seahawks. Watson threw for 402 yards on 30 pass attempts, with four touchdowns (and three interceptions, the last of which coming on a desperation heave), with numerous highlight plays along the ways. Here are some stats to sum up how good Watson was on Sunday and has been all season:
- He became the first rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era with 400-plus yards and four or more scores in a game.
- He also became the first ever quarterback (rookie or otherwise) with 400-plus yards passing, four or more scores AND 55 rushing yards in a game.
- Sunday marked the fourth straight game in which he had thrown for at least three scores, which extends his rookie record.
- He became only the fourth ever rookie to have four games of three or more touchdowns, joining Peyton Manning, Marcus Mariota and Dak Prescott.
- He became only the second ever rookie to have three games of four or more touchdowns, joining Fran Tarkenton.
- He has thrown 19 touchdowns on the season, surpassing Kurt Warner’s record for most even through the first seven games of a player’s career.
In case you’re more into visual depictions of greatness, here’s Watson’s first quarter touchdown pass over Earl Thomas and the vaunted Seahawks secondary:
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/924730733805101056
Here’s his second touchdown pass, another long-distance rifle:
His third touchdown pass went for only two yards, yet it might have been his best play of the day:
For his fourth touchdown, we’ll admit, Watson owes some credit to DeAndre Hopkins.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/924773583150297088
Of course, Watson wasn’t perfect Sunday, and his three interceptions certainly hurt the Texans. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson was comparably incredible, and Seattle eventually eked out a win on a Wilson strike to Jimmy Graham with only 21 seconds remaining.
Still, it was impossible not to watch Sunday’s game and come away thinking that Deshaun Watson is a freaking superstar.