HOUSTON -- With the Houston Texans losing two big playmakers for the season in defensive end J.J. Watt (tibial plateau fracture) and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus (torn pectoral muscle) on Sunday, the spotlight shifts to outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, who had the best season of his career in 2016.
“There’s no doubt that he will be a guy we count on to play real well for us,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “He plays very hard, he’s been practicing well. Obviously he’s a guy that whether J.J. and Whitney were there or not, he’s a guy that we really rely on to play at a high level, and that’s not going to change.