Deshaun Watson may not have won the game, but he won a great deal of respect Sunday.
The rookie Houston Texans quarterback dazzled with 402 passing yards, four touchdowns, and eight rushes for 67 yards in a back-and-forth battle with the Seattle Seahawks. It was Watson's stiffest challenge of his young NFL career, and he held his own against the Legion of Boom and the voracious Seahawks crowd at CenturyLink Field.
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman made sure to personally compliment Watson after the game.
"You played the best game any quarterback has ever played against us, and we've played all the legends," Sherman said to The MMQB's Peter King of his exchange with Watson.
"I respect how you hung in there and kept battling and battling."
Those words carry significant weight. The Seahawks have played both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in Super Bowls and have battled it out with the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees in playoff games.
But Sherman acknowledges Watson is just getting started.
"My God, Houston's so lucky," he said. "By next year he's going to be a top-five quarterback in this league, and that includes the two big dogs (Brady and Rodgers). He makes you dig to the deepest part of your competitive juices to beat him."
