J.J. Watt spoke with passion after the Houston Texans loss Sunday. The star defensive end directed his ire towards his fellow teammates, saying fans didn’t deserve their lack of effort.
Ouch. The locker room scene could get ugly this week, as if a 4-11 record wouldn’t do that already.
Star players like defensive end J.J. Watt rarely call out teammates in such a public forum as a post-game press conference. But it’s what happens after an 11th loss of the season. Plus, the Texans lost at home to a team that hadn’t won on the road in two years.
Cincinnati beat the Texans 37-31 at NRG Stadium in Houston. The Bengals took the lead with 1:57 to go in the game on Samaje Perine’s 3-yard touchdown. The Texans responded, driving the ball downfield. But quarterback Deshaun Watson fumbled after a sack, giving the ball back to the Bengals. It was the third time in the past four games that Houston suffered a late turnover, snapping a chance for a win.
Defensive End Is Incredibly Popular In Houston
J.J. Watt is the public face of the Texans. He’s incredibly popular in the city, both for his play and his charity work. Watt’s foundation raised more than $37 million and helped rebuild almost 1200 homes flooded by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
And Houston, even with J.J. Watt, has slogged their way through a miserable season. Bill O’Brien, the head coach and general manager, was fired after Houston started the season 0-4. The Texans own four victories this season. Two of them are over Jacksonville, the NFL’s worst team. record.
So cue J.J. Watt, who made three tackles and registered two quarterback hits. He first talked of how his teammates aren’t doing the work.
Watt Says Players Aren’t Doing The Work
“We’re professional athletes getting paid a whole lot of money,” the defensive end said. “If you can’t come in and put work in in the building and go out to the practice field and work hard, do your lifts and do what you’re supposed to do, you should not be here.”
“Because this is a privilege, this is the greatest job in the world, you get to go out and play a game, and if you can’t care enough even in Week 17, even when you’re trash when you’re 4-11 if you can’t care enough to go out there and give everything you’ve got and try your hardest, that’s bullsh-t.”
Watt said he felt for the fans, who send him messages via social media.
“There are people every week that still tweet you, that still come up to you and say, ‘Hey we’re still rooting for you, we’re still behind you,’ they have no reason whatsoever to – we stink. But they care. And they still want to win and they still want you to be great. That’s why. Those people aren’t getting paid. We’re getting paid handsomely, that’s why.”
“That’s who I feel most bad for is our fans and the people who care so deeply and the city and the people who love it and who truly want it to be great. And it’s not. And that sucks as a player, to know that we’re not giving them what they deserve.”
A Houston TV photographer posted the video clip of J.J. Watt on Twitter. He said “This is why we love J.J. Watt.” The video quickly went viral, with more than 1 million views in less than two hours.
