Texans Player of the Game
Another round of Hopkins vs. Ramsey goes to the Texans WR
With many of the Jaguars key offensive players taking the day off the Texans defense had a field-day. The offense looked great whenever the ball was headed to DeAndre Hopkins who drew the toughest assignment of the day, squaring off yet again with one of the best cornerbacks in the game in Jalen Ramsey.
Hopkins dominated today. With Ramsey shadowing him most of the game the Texans star amassed 12 catches for 147 yards. He hauled in one long pass for 43 yards down the sidelines with Ramsey in near lockstep with him.
Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said they like to move Hopkins around a lot to make it hard for him to find. He gave credit to Ramsey and praised his mentality and approach to Hopkins and said he's aware fans love watching that matchup. He called Hopkins the ultimate professional.
Watson looked early and often for Hopkins. Screen passes early saw Hopkins shake loose and later Watson got rolling hitting his star wideout consistently in the middle of the field. Even with far less talent than he has ever played with at wideout Hopkins frequently was open for Watson to hit.
This will go down as Hopkins' best statistical season ever. He set career highs in receptions and yards. He also hauled in 11 touchdowns on the season. He has tied Andre Johnson's single season record for receptions as well.
"I think Andre was over there telling them not to throw it to me," Hopkins joked after the game. Johnson attended the post game press conference with Hopkins and said he was proud of Hopkins. He also said he would put Hopkins up against any wideout in football.
He did all of this with a rotating cast of wideouts playing with him and appearing almost every week on the injury report. He's the most dominant offensive players in Texans history and trails only J.J. Watt for displays of dominance in franchise history overall.
