FRED FAOUR
Watson turns in elite performance as Texans roll over Dolphins 42-23
Oct 25, 2018, 10:43 pm
Deshaun Watson was terrific on Thursday. Bob Levey/Getty Images
Deshaun Watson has had mixed results all season. He has dealt with a subpar offensive line, bad play calling and several injuries.
In Thursday night’s game, we saw what he can be at his best.
Watson was 16 of 20, threw for 239 yards, 5 TDs and for the second straight game did not turn the ball over as the Texans had their best offensive game of the season in an 42-23 win over Miami.
As a result, the Texans sit at 5-3 after the halfway point of the season. They lead the AFC South and are looking very much like a playoff team. Their last two games have been their best of the season.
Watson was a game manager last week and led the Texans over Jacksonville. Thursday night, he was the playmaker we saw last season.
Watson eluded the pass rush and made big plays. He hit long passes. He was efficient and effective. And if this Watson shows up the rest of the season? The Texans have a chance to be very good.
He threw darts against his body. He hit deep passes. He made smart decisions. In short, he looked like an elite quarterback.
The running game certainly helped, as Lamar Miller had his best game as a Texan with 133 rushing yards. The offensive line kept Watson clean - he was not sacked once.
Watson made the most of it. He was accurate, poised. When he plays like that, the Texans can beat anyone. He looked healthy for the first time in weeks, and the results showed.
Yes, the Dolphins are garbage. The Texans were supposed to beat them handily. But Watson was beyond excellent and looked like the player we all fell in love with last season.
Is he a franchise quarterback? Absolutely. Can he be elite? Maybe.
Thursday night, he certainly was.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.