"It was worth all the shi**y tough days" said Watt after the game
Watt's return helps spark Texans in comeback, OT win
Jan 4, 2020, 7:14 pm
"It was worth all the shi**y tough days" said Watt after the game
Texans Defensive End J.J. Watt
He's back! J.J. Watt made his return to the field in their playoff game against the Bills. This is how he fared gainst Buffalo.
J.J. Watt needs to dust the rust off, got tossed by Cody Ford on the play. pic.twitter.com/le5rf64lOK
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 4, 2020
Watt was used as a situational defensive lineman throughout the game. The team would sub him in on clear passing downs, though he was in during some Bills rushing plays as well. As you can see from the play above, Watt had a welcome back moment or two from the Bills offensive line.
The first half was fairly quiet for Watt. He drew an occasional double team but he didn't show up with an actual stat on the stat sheet.
JJ WATT IS SO BACK 🔥 @JJWatt pic.twitter.com/MvLvvBcbz7
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 4, 2020
The Texans had just fumbled. The offense looked dead. The Bills had a chance to make it a near insurmountable lead. Watt flashed on third down for his first recorded statistic of the day to force the Bills to take a field goal.
It was a vintage Watt sack. He was too fast for the lineman and rumbled past him to crush Allen. The Bills signal caller would be antsy in the pocket for a couple of series after this.
Bill O'Brien said after the game Watt's sack got the crowd back into the game. He also said Houston fans are great because they are "going to let you know when you're not playing well, and they're going to let you know when you are playing well."
TJ Watt is HYPE for big bro 🙌🙌 @_TJWatt @JJWatt pic.twitter.com/kXAeISMExy
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) January 4, 2020
J.J. Watt's brother T.J. Watt was in attendance. The younger Watt is a defensive player of the year candidate.
Forced incompletion by Watt. pic.twitter.com/t43q1MMJly
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) January 5, 2020
Watt would get into a groove later in the game forcing Allen to toss the ball away. He drew closer to his regular level of attention from the Bills offense as the second half went on.
J.J. Watt: "There were a lot of people who were questioning it or calling me crazy or telling me that I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing. But nobody knows what those feelings feel like ... so, quite frankly, I don't really care what anybody else says. I did it for those moments. pic.twitter.com/J4TzMReCTC
— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) January 5, 2020
Watt made it clear after the game he came back to play with his teammates and he missed that feeling.
"We threw the plan out the window there in the fourth quarter and overtime," Watt said. He thanked the training and rehab staff for having him ready. He said he dove for a tackle and knew that moment he would know if his torn pectoral was going to remain healthy in the game.
Watt joked after the game he and the doctor hugged and neither knows how he held up for the game.
JJ Watt on what the plan was for him entering the game and how it went out the window in crunch time. #Texans @espn975 pic.twitter.com/TaF0djMb1s
— Jake Asman (@JakeAsman) January 5, 2020
Watt said the plan was for him to be situational for pass rushing but they plan was done when the fourth quarter got there. He said he didn't rehab to be on the sidelines in crunch time. Watt did say sometimes it was tough to stay on the sidelines through the first three quarters but he stuck to the plan.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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