After 284 days, Deshaun Watson made his return to the field.
The Texans starting quarterback was named the team's only coin toss captain in the preseason matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. After working his way back from season-ending knee surgery last year, Watson was one of the biggest questions heading into the preseason.
Would Watson start and if so, how much would he play?
Watson did start the Texans preseason opener at Kansas City but played just one offensive series before exiting the game. He was without wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller V, who did not see action in the game against the Chiefs.
"It was cool," Watson said. "It's been a long time since last October. It's a good feeling to go warm up and get some snaps in live action and put some butterflies away. It was cool to lead them on the first drive."
On the five-play, 33-yard opening drive, Lamar Miller rushed for back-to-back gains of five and 19 yards, respectively. Watson then completed a 5-yard pass to Bruce Ellington. Miller added another five-yard run before drive stalled at the 50-yard line.
"I thought we ran the ball well and I thought the operation was good," head coach Bill O'Brien said at halftime. "There are always a lot of things to correct. We have to watch the tape and get back to work after this game, but try to have a good second half and see where we're at."
Following his ACL surgery last year, Watson had limited participation in OTAs before being fully cleared for training camp.
Take a look at the best shots of the Houston Texans warming up to take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the first preseason game.
