Could next season be the one for Watson? A few have done it before in year four

Watson could join elite company with Super Bowl run in fourth season

Craig Larson, Jr.
Jan 22, 2020, 1:53 pm
Deshaun Watson was magical in the win. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

The Countdown to "Mahomes Magic" vying for Lombardi's Prize is rapidly approaching. His arrival and amazing ascension to becoming the "face" of the NFL has been meteoric in nature. So the obvious question for us in Houston, is "how" can Deshaun Watson next year land on center stage representing the AFC at next year's Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa? For Deshaun, he'll be entering his fourth NFL season. Have no fear Texans fans, there have been a handful of quarterbacks who have won an NFL Title in their fourth campaigns.

January 12th, 1969 - Joe Namath

​Joe Namath in his 4th season, was an 18 point underdog, led the Jets to one of the games biggest upsets, beating the heavily favored Colts by a score of 16-7. What made this even more remarkable, was that the Colts in the previous round had defeated the Cleveland Browns by a score of 34-0. Namath was not "amazing" that day, completing 17 of 28 passes for a mere 206 yards, but it was "enough" to claim MVP honors at the Miami Orange Bowl. The Jets failed to defend their title the following year, eventually losing to Hank Stram's Cheifs in Super Bowl IV. (The last time Kansas City appeared in a Super Bowl contest)

January 26th, 1986 - Jim McMahon

​Jim McMahon "The Punky QB" aided with Buddy Ryan's famed 46 Defense, and a the league's #1 rushing attack, trounced the New England Patroits in his 4th NFL Season by a score of 46-10. A late hit by Charles Martin during the 86' Regular Season resulted in a separated shoulder, placing Mad Mac on the shelf, and essentially ending the Bears quest for a repeat.

February 3rd, 2008 - Eli Manning

Similar to Namath and the Jets upset in 69', this game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in NFL History. New England was installed as a -12 point favorite on this day and were chasing perfection, having completed a perfect regular season, and post season. Eli Manning in his fourth year pulled off the miracle, as the Giants were merely a wildcard entry into the playoffs. Prior to this upset, a NFC Wildcard had never captured a Super Bowl Title. Eli threw for 255 yards, and a pair of touchdowns, the most memorable coming in the final moments when David Tyree made the remarkable "helmet catch" in a 17-14 upset victory.

So Houston, fear not !!! A QB can take a franchise to Super Bowl Glory in his 4th season!!!! Or in the case of Patrick Mahomes, possibly as early as a third!

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Roughnecks 34, Vipers 27

5 Take Aways From The Roughnecks 1st Road Win


QB Talk: PJ Walker will forever be the first name to start off any Roughnecks XFL article. The Houston MVP is a master at escaping pressure with ease and airing the ball all over. A play gone wrong late in the second quarter was turned into a TD by Walker.

On the flip side, Taylor Cornelius is really BAD. I'm pretty sure him and Jameis Winston not only stink it up for Tampa QB reps, but they also share the same eyesight. Accuracy is rare. The Vipers finally decided it was time to put Flowers in. I mean… at least he throws to an actual target, right? The back and forth QB switch up did manage to throw off the Roughnecks D though, I'll give them that.

Defense: Well, Houston officially gave the Tampa Bay Vipers their first TD of the season. Unfortunately, that wasn't their first or worst mistake. The Roughnecks defense looked shaky the entire first half. Okay, that was me being nice. They looked like sh—. Penalties were an issue along with the huge concern when it comes to stopping the run. Quentin Flowers ran all over them. The outside also got burned by the blind QB1/2? A gain of 24 on a 4th down set the Vipers back up for another TD to finish off the third quarter and ice the cake on this defensive performance from Houston.

Lookout: The run game. This has been a struggle for June Jones and the Roughnecks offense all season. There was concern the first quarter but it finally took off. I expected a lot from James Butler this week and that's exactly what we got. I look forward to seeing a lot more of Butler as the season progresses.

Road Games: I don't think traveling on the road was a disadvantage to this team. If anything it was motivation. Going into Tampa against a team that started the season 0-2 was a plot twist. Even for me. We all knew the Vipers would come out playing their best game if they wanted to stay alive at all, we just didn't know they would put on such a good show. This is exactly why the XFL is so fun.

If you're looking for my fifth take away from this game, its simple. Uniforms. Let's take a moment of silence for the disgusting Tampa Bay uni's. Come on.

Your Houston Roughnecks are on the road again next Sunday against the Dallas Renegades at 4pm. We all know how much Houston loves Dallas.

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