Los Angeles: Quarterback Deshaun Watson ran for a touchdown in his first career NFL start on Thursday, leading the Houston Texans to a 13-9 win over the Bengals on his 22nd birthday.
DeAndre Hopkins had seven catches for 73 yards for the Texans, who beat the Bengals in Cincinnati to avoid an 0-2 start to the season.
Watson passed for 125 yards, but Houston relied heavily on their rushing attack, with 168 yards, including 67 from Watson.
The Bengals have yet to score a touchdown in two games so far. They have never reached the playoffs after an 0-2 start.
Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton was coming off one of the worst performances of his career, having thrown four interceptions in last week’s 20-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
He didn’t throw an interception against Houston, connecting on 20 of 35 passing attempts for 224 yards.
Watson earned his first NFL start after passing for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception after taking over for Tom Savage in the second half of last week’s loss to Jacksonville.
He completed 15 of 24 passes and kept his composure despite being sacked three times.
Two plays after he was sacked by Geno Atkins in the second quarter Watson scrambled on third-and-15, broke two tackles and raced 49 yards for a touchdown that put the Texans up 10-3.
“It’s a dream come true,” Watson told the NFL Network.
“This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life and now is the time. We knew that it was going to be tough and we had to work our way to the victory. I just want to thank all the guys for playing hard and playing to the fourth quarter. It was awesome.”
The teams traded field goals in the second half, Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn capping the scoring with a 42-yard field goal two minutes from the finish.
Cincinnati’s last drive ended when Dalton threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-9.
Rookie receiver John Ross made his NFL debut for Cincinnati, but his first touch ended with a fumble that Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney returned 48 yards to the Bengals 20-yard line.
That led to a 26-yard field goal by Fairbairn to put Houston ahead 3-0.
The Bengals pulled level with a field goal by Randy Bullock, before the Texans answered with Watson’s TD.
Cincinnati drove 64 yards in 48 seconds just before halftime, but settled for a 29-yard field goal from Bullock, who booted another in the third quarter to account for all of the Bengals’ points.
