The NFL named Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson the AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in the team's 57-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
In his third career NFL start, Watson completed 25-of-34 passes (73.5%) for 283 yards, four touchdowns, one interception and a 125.0 passer rating. He also ran for 24 yards on four attempts (6.0 avg.) and had one rushing touchdown.
Watson's five total touchdowns tied for the second-most touchdowns scored by a rookie in NFL history behind Gale Sayers' six touchdowns in 1965 and tied for the most touchdowns in a game by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. He became the third rookie quarterback in NFL history with four-or-more touchdown passes and one-or-more rushing touchdowns and first since Fran Tarkenton in 1961. Watson and Tarkenton are the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 250 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a single game.
Watson also became the fourth rookie NFL quarterback since 2000 to post three-or-more touchdown passes and one-or-more rushing touchdowns in a single game. He became the second quarterback in franchise history with two-or-more passing touchdowns and one-or-more rushing touchdowns in the same game, joining Brandon Weeden who did it in 2015. He also became the third quarterback in team history to post a 125.0-or-better passer rating in a game with 30-or-more pass attempts (joining Matt Schaub in 2009 and Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2014).
Watson is the only rookie in NFL history with seven-or-more pass touchdowns and two-or-more rushing touchdowns in his team's first four games of a season and joins Panthers QB Cam Newton as the only rookies in NFL history with nine total touchdowns through the team's first four games of the season.
This is the first time Watson has earned Player of the Week honors and the 39th time a Texan has been named Player of the Week in franchise history. It is also the 13th time Houston has won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award in team history.
