J.J. Watt makes big, game-changing plays. He bats balls, forces fumbles, grabs interceptions, and scores touchdowns on both sides of the ball.
He also makes mistakes.
Watt's motor and speed was, at times, too much, especially on special teams. Watt was flagged twice in the second quarter of the Texans 23-7 victory over Cleveland. Following his overzealous efforts to block a punt, Watt ran into the Browns kicker. Both times, he incurred a 15-yard penalty for roughing the kicker.
"Obviously, there are two plays that I wish I didn't do, but I will never apologize for trying to make a play," Watt said. "My number was called and I tried to go out there and make a play. I wish I had gone a little bit more to the left or so."
Watt, upset with himself, headed to the sidelines and faced his teammates.
"It definitely motivated me,'' said Watt. "I told the guys, 'I owe you one. I owe you two, technically.' It definitely motivates you to go out there and make plays and make something happen because you want to avenge yourself for that screwup.''
And he did.
With 3:11 left in the second quarter, Brian Cushing forced the ball out of Isaiah Crowell's grip in the red zone and Watt recovered. That fumble recovery led to seven points on the Texans ensuing drive, on a touchdown pass to Garrett Graham nine plays later.
In the third quarter, Watt forced a pair of TFLs (tackles for loss) on the same series, holding Cleveland's offense to just four yards on five plays.
Watt finished the game with five tackles, three for a loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He also caught Ryan Mallett's first career touchdown pass in the first quarter.
"The rest of the day – I'll look at it and see what happened," Watt said after the game. "Overall, we got a win and that's all that matters to me."
