KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) — After watching Houston’s J.J. Watt make yet another highlight-reel play on Sunday against Buffalo, Texans owner Bob McNair had just one question.
“What next,” McNair asked.
Watt’s big play helped the Texans overcome a tough day offensively for a 23-17 win over the Bills.
Houston (3-1) was down by three in the third quarter and Ryan Fitzpatrick had just thrown a second interception when the 6-foot-5, 289-pound Watt returned an interception 80 yards to put the Texans up 14-10.
The defensive end caught a touchdown pass in Week 2, giving him more TDs this year than Arian Foster and Andre Johnson combined.
Fitzpatrick had a tough day against his former team, throwing for 268 yards with two interceptions. He put together one nice drive just before halftime, capped by a 35-yard touchdown reception by DeAndre Hopkins that cut the lead to 10-7.
Under heavy pressure all afternoon, EJ Manuel finished with 225 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bills (2-2). Buffalo was driving late when Darryl Morris picked him off at the Houston 15 to secure the victory.
Watt finished with five tackles and had a career-high nine hits on Manuel.
“You don’t become Defensive Player of the Year if you don’t have an impact on a lot of football games, and he does,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said of Watt, who won the award in 2012. “Obviously he had a big impact on this game.”
Manuel got the Bills to 20-17 when he hit a wide-open Mike Williams for an 80-yard touchdown with about 9 minutes left.
Randy Bullock had a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter and added field goals of 55 and 50 yards in the fourth for Houston.
Kyle Williams tipped Fitzpatrick’s pass at the line and it was intercepted by Nigel Bradham on the first play of the second half. It didn’t matter much, though, as Watt’s interception came three plays later when he got his giant hands on the pass to tip it to himself. Kareem Jackson blocked Manuel at the start of the return and Watt was gone.
Watt added a bit of swagger when he high-stepped and waved one hand in the air as he crossed the goal line, exciting the home crowd.
Some things to know about Houston’s win over Buffalo:
ARIAN NOT HEALTHY: Foster played after missing last week with a hamstring injury and said he was still struggling with the injury. He was limited to eight carries for six yards but gained 55 yards on seven receptions.
“I wasn’t 100 percent healthy and didn’t feel 100 percent myself,” he said. “I got out on a couple of third-down plays at the end of the game to try and help out, and I’m glad I could make a play when my number was called.”
Foster had run for more than 100 yards in both of the other games he’d played this season.
INJURED DEFENDERS: Bradham and defensive tackle Kyle Williams left with knee injuries and didn’t return. Marrone didn’t have an update on their condition after the game.
FITZPATRICK SPEECH: The Texans were moved be a fiery pregame speech Fitzpatrick delivered to the team in the huddle.
“I felt like it was a good moment for me to kind of let my feelings be felt in terms of what we wanted out of this game and the emotion for me that was in this game,” Fitzpatrick said.
Watt was especially moved by the display of emotion from the normally mild-mannered quarterback.
“It was inspiring, it was motivating and makes you want to go out there and win the game for him,” Watt said. “It was one of the most passionate things I’ve ever seen.”
SLOW PROGRESS: Buffalo receiver Sammy Watkins, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, is coming along slowly in his transition to the NFL.
Watkins had four receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown on Sunday and has 17 receptions for 197 yards and two scores this season.
He was asked if he’s met his own expectations through his first four NFL games.
“Only thing I can keep doing is keep running good routes and blocking,” Watkins said.
JOHNSON COMES UP SHORT: Johnson needed seven receptions on Sunday to tie Marvin Harrison in reaching 950 receptions in the fewest games in NFL history at 158. He came up just short, finishing with six receptions for 71 yards to leave him at 949.
“If it was meant to happen today, it would have happened,” he said. “Just to be mentioned with that group of wide receivers is a humbling experience.”
___
AP NFL websites: –www.pro32.ap.org and –www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
