Texans’ Romeo Crennel says DE J.J. Watt is playing like he did in 2014

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been a one-man wrecking crew over the past two weeks.

The 31-year-old has provided the Texans with six tackles, a tackle for loss, four pass breakups, and an interception returned for a 19-yard touchdown. Watt’s play has been the catalyst for Houston’s two-game winning streak and recovered their record to a more manageable 4-7 as the defending AFC South champions enter the final month of the regular season.

Interim coach Romeo Crennel says that Watt’s play over the past two weeks has been reminiscent of his 2014 season, when Watt won his second of three NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

“It was like it was when I first got here,” Crennel said. “He was making those plays when I first got here. He was helping us win, he was uplifting the team, and, so, it’s back to that on Thanksgiving. Hopefully, he’ll continue that and let him keep making plays.”

The Texans host the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium to commence their two-game season series. If Houston is to return to the playoffs, let alone repeat as division champions for the third straight season, it will take, not only Watt playing at a high level, but the defense being opportunistic with the attention Watt takes from opposing blockers.

“It’s a tremendous value because the opponent has to account for him, and usually they have more than one to account for him,” said Crennel. “So, what that means while he’s dealing with two or three, that someone else is dealing with one. And then we talk to our guys all the time about winning the one-on-one battles.

So, J.J. is fighting three. Those guys that are fighting one have to win, and when they do win, that impacts the game also.”