O'Brien: Texans players drew up game-sealing trick play 'in the dirt'
The Houston Texans' game-clinching touchdown against the New England Patriots ended with receiver DeAndre Hopkins lobbing a pass to quarterback Deshaun Watson.
The unconventional play helped the Texans emerge with a 28-22 victory and was drawn up much like sandlot football.
HOPKINS OPTION.@DeAndreHopkins tosses to @DeshaunWatson for the touchdown! #WeAreTexans
- NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2019
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"I think they drew it up in the dirt over the bye week," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said of Watson, Hopkins, and running back Duke Johnson, who took the initial handoff.
"They brought it in, had it on a piece of notebook paper. Handed it to me. We've been working on that for a while. It was all about timing, where we could get the ball so we could run a play like that. The timing was right."
Watson said the players saw the Chicago Bears run a similar play. He and backup quarterback A.J. McCarron brought the idea to the coaching staff and once Hopkins saw the design, he couldn't wait to run it.
"Hop was excited. I was excited. He did a good job of really selling the guys that come up, and then giving me a good pitch enough where I can catch it and dive in," Watson said. "Give all the credit to Hop and the pass. It was good."
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