It was like a traditional game of backyard football on Thanksgiving Day for Deshaun Watson and Will Fuller V.
"Well, some of it is options and some of it is called plays," interim head coach Romeo Crennel said. "They both played a tremendous game yardage-wise. I mean, Fuller, 170 yards with six catches, something like that. And then Deshaun out of twenty-five attempts, he was, I don't know, 19-of-25 or something. I'm not exactly sure, but he was right on."
In their NFL Thanksgiving Day debut, the duo combined for a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter that sealed the Houston Texans 41-25 win against the Detroit Lions. Watson completed 17-of-25 for 318 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 150.4 passer rating.
The fifth-year wideout finished with a team-high 171 yards to accompany his two touchdown passes late in the game. Fuller now has five 100-yard receiving games in 2020, tied for second in the NFL.
As Watson's chemistry has developed, his confidence in his receivers skyrocketed.
"That's why with the deep ball with Will, I just let it ride, put it in the back of the end zone, let him go make a play," Watson said.
Fuller's second touchdown came on a flea-flicker play where Watson handed off to Duke Johnson who pitched the ball back to Watson who found a wide-open Fuller deep along the left sideline.
"That was really Duke," Fuller said. "Duke did a great job, really playing backyard football and making it happen because, you know, when I turned around, I just saw a lot of people around Duke and he still had the ball. So I didn't know if it was going to work or not but he found a way. So, I mean, my job was easy and Duke made it happen for me."
Through just 11 starts this season, Fuller has set a single-season career high in receptions (53), receiving yards (879), yards per catch (16.6 average) and touchdowns with eight on the season. Fuller joined wide receiver Amari Cooper as the only players with at least 170 receiving yard and two touchdown receptions on Thanksgiving Day since 1990.
The holiday performance has only made Fuller hungry for more.
"You know, we're just getting started," Fuller said. "Deshaun is playing great. You know, he's our leader. And we going to keep making it happen."
The Texans improved to 4-7 on the season and will next host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, December 6.
