USA Today via Reuters
Nov 22, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) celebrates with linebacker Jake Martin (54) after a play during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Nov 22, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) celebrates with linebacker Jake Martin (54) after a play during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The Houston Texans are slated to take on the Detroit Lions in a Thanksgiving Day game. JJ Watt has become a subject of discussion after his performance against the New England Patriots.
In a rare win for the Texans, Watt played a fantastic game. He had 2 important solo tackles that helped the Texans secure the W.
NFL analyst Peter Schrager spoke on Good Morning Football. Schrager was very complimentary towards Watt’s performance against the Patriots.
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“You know who played well last week?… Watt showed up last week. I was watching the Texans-Patriots game, and JJ Watt was all over the field, batting down passes, showing emotion.”
USA Today via Reuters
Nov 22, 2020; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
He noted that Watt had lately been featuring on headlines for his off the field antics rather than those on the field. Schrager added that seeing Watt’s performance was a true throwback to his second season.
“You see JJ Watt in some sandwich commercials and he’s in a bunch of different ads and he’s got great tweets and he’s quoting The Office and we’re, like ‘Ahh JJ Watt’.
“But on Monday mornings we’re never talking about JJ Watt anymore. Finally, this week we started talking about JJ Watt and it brings me back to 2012.”
Schrager thinks JJ Watt will have a big game
"You know who was awesome last week? JJ Watt. We see him on the commercials and he tweets about "The Office". Guess what? JJ Watt still is a terror on the football field. He's not just T.J.'s older brother and a sandwich salesman!" — @PSchrags pic.twitter.com/voRSo6DuqB
— GMFB (@gmfb) November 26, 2020
Schrager doubled down on his throwback assessment, reminiscing about one of Watt’s biggest games on Thanksgiving Day 2012.
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“Long before Good Morning Football was a show, and it was just JJ Watt’s second season in the league. Watt put on a show against the aforementioned Matt Stafford.
“Absolutely dominant performance, sacking the quarterback, kind of a break-out day on national television. Where he had said, ‘Hey, you know what there are a lot of good defensive players in this league, I might be the very best.’ Watt was all over the field that week.”
Schrager noted that Watt’s return to form could be the catalyst that allows the Houston Texans to defeat the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving day.
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“I know the Texans defense is beleaguered, I know they are the punching bag of a lot of jokes. My wishbone pick – I think JJ Watt has a renaissance…JJ Watt is going to have a day, and Texans win the game.”
The teams walk into this battle boasting of similar records, with the Lions having notched a win more than the Texans with a 4-6 record. But the morale-boosting win against the Patriots could be a big factor in the game.
