DeAndre Hopkins is no secret weapon for the Texans, according to head coach Bill O'Brien.
"The guy's your number one receiver, you pay him a lot of money," O'Brien said. "What are you going to do? Go into this game and not throw him the ball? You know what I mean? We're always going to throw him the ball. I guess I don't understand the whole theory of 'They throw Hopkins the ball a lot.' I mean, wouldn't you?"
However, the All-Pro receiver still manages to put up big games week after week despite a hefty amount of attention from opposing defenses. In Sunday's 19-17 win at Denver, Hopkins finished with a team-high 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Hopkins scored on a 16-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter to give the Texans a 13-3 lead with 11:05 left in the second quarter.
"Being battle-tested, previous games being close, we know what we have to do," Hopkins said. "Sometimes the ball will go your way."
Hopkins now ranks first in the AFC and third in NFL in receiving yards (894) behind only Adam Thielen (947) and Julio Jones (933) and has scored seven touchdowns this season. The Texans star receiver now joins Adam Thielen as the only players in the NFL to record multiple games with at least 10 receptions, 100 receiving yards and one touchdown this season.
"He is a guy that any quarterback would love to have," Deshaun Watson said. "Being able to go to him and knowing he is going to be in the right place at the right time and make big catches and knowing he is going to receive them."
Hopkins' 88 consecutive games with a reception to start his career is the longest active streak in the NFL to start a career and puts Hopkins past Steelers WR Santonio Holmes for the ninth-longest streak of games with a reception to start a career in the Super Bowl era.
With their sixth consecutive win, the Texans improve to 6-3 on the season heading into the bye week.
