A quick look at Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans

Watson, the former Falcons’ ball boy from Gainesville High who went on to lead Clemson to a national championship, has completed 82 of 126 passes (65.1 percent) for 938 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He has a passer rating of 99.9.

“Sometimes when you play a mobile quarterback like that, there are two plays,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “The first one happens, and all of a sudden, I'm getting outside the pocket, and then how do you match up on all those ones that go? That's a big piece of it.”

Watson is coming off a weak game against the Panthers. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 160 yards and was sacked six times.

“We just played (Tennessee quarterback Marcus) Mariota,” Falcons linebacker DeVondre Campbell said. “They are the same players. The only difference is, I think is that Deshaun can throw it a little better. He’s actually a true pocket-passing quarterback. He doesn’t want to run the ball unless he has, too.”

The Texans can challenge the Falcons’ struggling defense on several fronts.

“No. 1, they have some explosive players,” Quinn said. “Just on the offense, who they've added, (Carlos) Hyde, who's a good running back, and Duke Johnson, who's got playmaking ability out of the backfield, (Will) Fuller who's got speed to take things vertical. They added (Kenny) Stills. They've got a good group, and that goes without Deshaun making plays with his feet.”

Hyde is Houston’s leading rusher with 250 yards on 52 carries and one touchdown. Johnson has 146 yards on 23 carries.

“(Hyde) and (Derrick) Henry are kind of the same kind of guys,” Campbell said. “Good strong runners. You have got to get their feet off the ground or they can definitely hurt you.”

The Falcons’ secondary will need a plan for dynamic wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who’s the top receiver, with 24 catches for 259 yards and two touchdowns.

“We know what he’s capable of,” Campbell said. “A top-three receiver in this league. He’s definitely going to be a part of the game plan.”

The Texans are coming off a bizarre offseason that included an aborted general manager search and the trading of edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney.

They were active in picking up Johnson, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and former Peachtree Ridge High standout Bradley Roby, who signed a one-year, $10-million contract and is starting at cornerback.

The Texans were defeated by the Saints 30-28 to open the season. They posted consecutive wins over the Jaguars (13-12) and the Chargers (27-20) before losing last week to Carolina (16-10) and backup quarterback Kyle Allen.

“There are a lot of improvements that we need to make relative to last week,” O’Brien said. “I think we are headed in the right direction.”

The Texans’ defense is led by outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus (five sacks) and defensive end J.J. Watt (three sacks).

“On the defensive side, that's a big strong group, and they mix up different fronts,” Quinn said. “That's something that the guys have to dig into hard as we're going. Big, long, strong front for sure.”

The Falcons’ offensive line could struggle against Houston’s front. Center Alex Mack has an elbow injury, while right guard Jamon Brown in the NFL’s concussion protocol. If Mack can’t play, Wes Schweitzer would play center and Ty Sambrailo would move into right guard.

“We’ve got some guys that can rush the passer,” O’Brien said. “I think they are just whether it’s a four-man rush, five-man rush or three-man rush, we’ve got guys that can get to the passer. We have a good skill set for that.

“There’s edge guys and inside guys and they are all good players. They play hard and they have an understanding of rush lanes. I think that’s a good front that we have.”

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