It's hard to believe given how things have gone since, but as recently as eight weeks ago, Texans coach Bill O'Brien (apparently) thought Tom Savage gave his team a better chance to win than Deshaun Watson. O'Brien started Savage on opening day against the Jaguars, then watched him get pummeled with six sacks in the first half before turning the team over to Watson.
After struggling through that game and the following week against the Bengals, Watson took off into the stratosphere and became arguably the best rookie quarterback in recent memory. (Basically the only competition is 2016 Dak Prescott.) Of course, because the 2017 NFL season is the worst, Watson tore his ACL in practice on Thursday, and is now out for the season. Savage will step back into the lineup.
At his Friday media availability, Savage acknowledged the obvious: he is not Deshaun Watson and we cannot expect him to be.
Tom Savage with high praise: “You can’t replace Deshaun Watson. The kid has been playing absolutely lights out. My job is to just help out."
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 3, 2017
Tom Savage: “I’m just going to state the obvious: There’s things he can do that I can’t do.” …Savage notes deep passes can still carry over.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 3, 2017
The drop-off from Watson to Savage seems likely to doom the Texans' playoff hopes, which were really only alive because Watson was under center in the first place. The team's defense has taken a step backward after injuries to J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, and it was only Watson's spectacular performances keeping the team in games. At 3-4 and a full game out of both the second wild card spot and the AFC South lead, they simply don't have enough margin for error to account for the talent deficiencies they now face on both sides of the ball.
