Deshaun Watson did it all for the Houston Texans in their opener against New Orleans Youth Lonnie Johnson Jersey , throwing for three touchdowns and running for another one.The Texans still left New Orleans with a loss because of a variety of problems, namely struggles on the offensive line and in the secondary.Watson capped his big game by moving the offense 75 yards on just two plays, capped by a 37-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Stills to give Houston a 28-27 lead with just 37 seconds left.“He’s a very instinctive, great player, plays with poise,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “Always looking to improve. And he’s a winner.”But he didn’t win Monday night as Houston’s porous secondary wasn’t able to keep Drew Brees from getting the Saints into field-goal range and the Texans lost 30-28 on Wil Lutz‘s 58-yard kick as time expired.“There’s things we can do communication-wise and coaching that we can do better,” O’Brien said. “We just have to keep working to improve.”Watson was able to shine on Monday night despite taking another beating. The third-year quarterback, who was sacked an NFL-high 62 times last season, was sacked six times and hit another 11 by the New Orleans defense despite playing behind new left tackle Laremy Tunsil.Houston sent two first-round picks and one in the second round to Miami for Tunsil and Stills on Aug. 31 as the Texans looked for a way to better protect Watson. Though he still got hit way too much in the opener, O’Brien said that Tunsil did some good things in his debut and that he’ll only get better with more practice time.WHAT’S WORKINGHouston’s offense looked sharp against the Saints with Watson connecting again and again with star receiver DeAndre Hopkins on a night he finished with eight receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Will Fuller also looked good in his return from knee surgery which cost him the last nine games in 2018 and added two catches for 69 yards.The running game, which was a question mark entering the year after a season-ending knee injury to Lamar Miller, was also effective in the opener. Duke Johnson and Carlos Hyde, who were both acquired late in the preseason, combined to rush for 140 yards.WHAT NEEDS HELPDespite his success on Monday night White Lonnie Johnson Jersey , the Texans know Watson can’t keep getting hit that much week after week as he did last year. As Tunsil gets more comfortable with the offense he should shore up the group and the unit should also get a boost when first-round draft pick Tytus Howard returns after missing Game 1 with a finger injury.“We’ve got to cut down on that number there’s no doubt about it,” O’Brien said. “We can’t give up six sacks.”STOCK UPStills had three receptions for 37 yards and a score just more than a week after being traded from the Dolphins. O’Brien said they used him sparingly because of the limited practice time, but that his workload will increase as he learns more of the playbook.“There will be more to come,” O’Brien said.STOCK DOWNCornerback Aaron Colvin was the weakest link on a secondary which allowed 362 yards passing on Monday night. Colvin gave up two touchdowns in the second half. The first came on a 9-yard score by Taysom Hill in the third quarter before he got beat on a 14-yard TD reception by Tre’Quan Smith later in the period. Colvin was also on the coverage when Ted Ginn grabbed a 9-yard reception that set up the game-winning field goal.INJUREDThe Texans didn’t have any significant injuries against the Saints. Watson got banged up when he hit the ground hard on his lower back after his TD run, but O’Brien said the injury isn’t anything that will keep him out this week.Along with Howard, the Texans could also get receiver Keke Coutee back this week after he missed the opener after injuring his ankle in the first preseason game.KEY NUMBER0 — For the first time in 105 games, three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt did not record a tackle or quarterback hit on Monday.The defensive end should expect to draw more attention from opponents this season with fellow pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney gone after a trade to Seattle. But O’Brien was quick to point out that too much shouldn’t be made of the fact that Watt had zeroes across the stat sheet on Monday.“J.J. Watt is a Hall of Fame player and he has usually shown up on the stat sheet,” he said. “But he (impacts) the game in so many different ways, when he draws two and three blockers. They ran the ball away from him quite a bit. They did a good job, give them credit but I think he still impacted the game.”NEXT STEPSWith more time and practice, Houston’s new pieces on offense should be able to help the unit improve. The Texans believe Tunsil can be their franchise left tackle and he’ll need to step his game up this week to keep Watson from being hit so much. Another week of practice for Stills, Johnson and Hyde should help them do more on Sunday against the Jaguars and give Watson more options to pile up big numbers. HOUSTON (AP) — DeAndre Hopkins had the best season of his career, carrying Houston’s receivers in a year the group was decimated by injuries.Now the self-described best receiver in the NFL will need another big performance for the Texans to get a win over the Colts in the wild-card game on Saturday.“I feel like I’m a leader of this team, not just this offense Julién Davenport Jersey ,” Hopkins said. “I was named captain, so for me to go out and play my best game is important, not just for me but for this team.”Hopkins finished the regular season with a career-high 1,572 yards receiving, which ranked second in the NFL, and his 115 receptions tied a franchise record set by Andre Johnson in 2008. His 11 touchdown receptions were fifth in the league and tied for the second most in his career after he grabbed a franchise-record 13 last season.His performance comes in a season when the Texans lost starting receiver Will Fuller to a torn knee ligament in October, and Demaryius Thomas to an Achilles tendon injury two weeks ago. Houston got solid production from Keke Coutee midway through the season, but the rookie has missed the last five games with a hamstring injury, leaving Hopkins to carry an even bigger load than usual.Coach Bill O’Brien is wowed by the sixth-year player nearly every day, and when asked about him this week he noted Hopkins had just made a nifty one-handed grab in practice a few minutes earlier.“He just has a great skill set, really smart player, excellent competitor, can really make the contested catch, he can line up inside J.J. Watt Jersey , he can line up outside, he can do a lot of different things, and he’s come up real big for us,” O’Brien said. “He has 115 catches and they’ve all been important catches. He’s a leading third-down target. … He always impresses me.”He’s so good and consistent that second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson admitted he’s tempted to throw it to him on every play.“For sure,” Watson said. “Usually he’s going to make a play happen regardless if you think he’s open. If he’s not open, he’s open.”Hopkins has a knack for making catches at key moments, with 81 of his 115 receptions resulting in a first down or a touchdown. And an even more impressive statistic, according to Pro Football Focus, is that he does not have a single drop this season on catchable targets.After that statistic was released, a meme featured a picture of Hopkins with a bottle of glue in one of his hands bearing a label that read: ‘Hopkins’ Catch-All Multi-Purpose WR, extra strong formula, no drop.’ Hopkins was amused by the meme and his tweet of it received more than 68,000 likes.But he said he’s more concerned about being consistent than the fact he hasn’t dropped a ball all season.“That’s my goal every day. Being consistent, not just on the football field but in life DeAndre Hopkins Jersey ,” he said. “Playing football is something I love doing, and being named as one of the best is something that I work hard for because I think everybody wants to be the best at their position. Otherwise why would you play your position? So, to get that recognition from whoever made that, that was pretty cool … I know that if I don’t drop a ball, it’s going to lead to something good.”Watson didn’t have to play with Hopkins long to realize he wasn’t like most receivers and that his skills could help make up for some of the young quarterback’s mistakes.“I found that out last year when I was throwing to him. It’s ridiculous,” Watson said. “My first start in Cincinnati last year, some balls there I kind of threw high. Some stop routes. I’d come over and be like: ‘Hey, it’s my bad. I’m going to get it down,’ and he was just like: ‘No, I want it just like that. I want it high. I want it outside. I want it low,’ and he just found a way to get it.”His production this season is even more impressive considering he’s been hampered by minor injuries, but still started every game. While those injuries never kept him out on game day, they limited his practice time, which he acknowledges was difficult.“It’s been challenging not being able to practice with my guys like I want to Lamar Miller Jersey , being out there, just having fun with the fellas,” he said. “That’s why I look forward to coming to work every day, just being around my teammates, not just going out there and making plays on Sunday.“It’s been challenging from that aspect, but it’s been good,” he continued. “My play has correlated to us winning games, so I feel like me personally, this is my best season. We won the division. Best record I’ve had since I’ve been here yet.”And now Hopkins and the Texans will try to build on that success as they chase their first championship.