Texans defensive end J.J. Watt caught another touchdown pass on Sunday while turning in his requisite strong performance on defense, so the Texans decided to see if he could produce big plays in a third phase of the game as well.
The Texans turned J.J. Watt loose on the punt block team, but it turned out to be a rare misfire for Watt. He was flagged for roughing the kicker twice in the second quarter of the 23-7 Texans victory, which gave the Browns a chance to extend two drives and score their only touchdown of the game.
Browns punter Spencer Lanning said after the game that Watt didn’t come close to blocking either of the kicks and was particularly late on the second try. Lanning didn’t go so far as to ascribe nefarious motives to Watt’s late dives, but said Watt is on the field to be “disruptive” and “inflict pain.”
“I wouldn’t call it dirty. I haven’t seen it on film. All I can say is from the cut-ups we have on the sideline, he wasn’t even close. So for him to come through twice and not be close…,’' Lanning said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “If he wants to be a wild man and come through there, then I’m going to pick my feet up and if he touches me, it’s going to be a first down. It’s what we have to do or else they’ll come through all the time.”
It’s been an eventful season for Lanning, whose beef with Watt came without the kick to the face that he received from Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown earlier this year.
