Texans QB Deshaun Watson suffers ACL tear, out for the season

Early Thursday evening, NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported that rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has suffered a non-contact ACL tear in practice that will sideline him for the rest of the season. For Watson, this brings an end to a season where the rookie signal caller threw four or more touchdowns in a game three times en route to being named the AFC offensive player of the month.

Watson was leading the NFL, along with Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in touchdown passes, with 19 on the year. The implications for the Ravens are that they will now miss the rookie standout when the Texans come to town on November 27th. This isn’t the first time this year that the Ravens have missed an opposing team’s starting quarterback. Up to this point, the Ravens have been able to elude Derek Carr, Sam Bradford and Jay Cutler, with Watson joining that list.

The Ravens currently sit one spot ahead of the Texans in the AFC wildcard race at the season’s halfway mark. Season-ending injuries to J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus and now Watson appear to give the Ravens a more favorable matchup as they look to close the gap in the AFC on the pursuit of a playoff berth.