Before the Texans faced the Jags in Week 2, I wrote a piece called Beware the Backup. After that, Gardner Minshew came within a Leonard Fournette two-point-conversion of beating the Texans at NRG Stadium.
Minshew was making his first start. Drew Lock makes his second on Sunday and he's 1-0 already.
The thing about rookies is you don't know a lot about them. And even if you might think you have them bottled up, they start scrambling around, doing unpredictable things and rallying their teams.
I won't go through all the times this franchise (or others) has been tormented by rookie QBs but here are a few notable games –
November, 2005 – Ryan Fitzpatrick (yes, that one) comes off the bench and throws three TD passes to lead the Rams ("he played for them too?!") past Houston in overtime.
November, 2006 – Vince Young runs for a 39 yard TD in overtime to beat Houston (this one still stings).
September, 2009 – Mark Sanchez, on opening day, puts on a relatively stunning performance to lead the Jets over Houston.
OK, I'll stop there because I've had enough of this waltz down memory lane.
I know these examples are practically of another era but that shouldn't make you feel any better. In fact, aren't rookie QBs playing better than ever? Deshaun Watson won his first ever start, on the road, and in prime time!
Preparation for Denver will get the Texans full attention. When you put on the tape you see a team that's taken a lot of squads down to the wire. They're 9th in scoring defense and you can easily make the case that they are about three or four plays from being .500 or better.
They coulda-woulda-shoulda beat Indy on the road. They had Jacksonville and Chicago on the ropes before faltering on the final drive. They led at Minnesota 23-7 in the fourth quarter before the Vikings rallied.
So get ready for another intense NFL afternoon, another chapter in this entertaining, amazing season.
