Houston Texans: QB Deshaun Watson growing in Bill O'Brien's offense

HOUSTON -- Houston Texans rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson kept looking to his right for an opening in the red zone. However, that area of the field was effectively cut off by New England Patriots defensive end Kony Ealy.

So, the Texans' rookie changed his plan on the fly. He cut sharply up the middle and scampered into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run, his second rushing score through two preseason games.

It was the best moment for the first-round draft pick from Clemson during an up-and-down game against the Patriots.

"It was a play call, an OB (head coach Bill O'Brien) call," Watson said. "Everyone did their job. I was in a one-on-one situation. I did what I had to do to make it work."

Watson celebrated in the end zone by doing "The Millie Rock" dance.

"They enjoyed it," Watson said of his teammates' reaction. "They thought it was a pretty good thing to do."

Watson missed a few open reads, including not locating wide receiver Dres Anderson on third down when he was open in the end zone as the Texans were forced to settle for a field goal.

Watson completed just 3 of 10 passes for 102 yards for a 69.6 passer rating. Sixty-three of those yards came on an impressive catch-and-run by rookie running back D'Onta Foreman. Watson rushed for 10 yards on four carries.

Although Watson made some good plays while dealing with some chaos on the field with the Texans' reserve players, it wasn't the kind of performance that would make a convincing argument for him to unseat starter Tom Savage.

"I did a decent job," Watson said. "I did what I needed to do to try to move the ball. There's always things I can get better at."

The former consensus All-America, national championship winner and Heisman Trophy award finalist remained patient when things broke down around him. He has yet to commit a turnover midway through the preseason.

Watson has drawn strong reviews from the coaching staff with his intangibles, poise, decision-making and athleticism. The Texans love his work ethic and how coachable Watson has been.

Through two preseason games, Watson has completed 18 of 35 passes for 281 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. He has rushed for two touchdowns, gaining 34 yards on seven carries.

Watson has shown plenty of potential and eye-catching skills as a scrambler.

Barring an unforeseen development such as an injury suffered by Savage, who has a history of durability issues, or Savage faltering badly against the New Orleans Saints in the third preseason game, Watson figures to enter the regular season as the backup.

That falls in line with the Texans' original plan for how to bring along Watson, whom they traded up to the Cleveland Browns' selection to land him with the 12th overall pick of the draft.

"It's good," Watson said. "I'm building trust every day."