With wins of 20 or more points in three of their first four games of the season, the Texans entered Monday's game as large favorites. They won, but didn't managed to cover the spread, as the Jets used about as much deception as possible to give Houston all they could handle in a 23-17 game.
In particular, the Jets had no answer for Texans running back Arian Foster and struggled all day on offense thanks largely to defensive end J.J. Watt. Vega of Texans SB Nation blog, Battle Red Blog, unsurprisingly gave those two players the game balls for their performances:
Game Balls:
Offense: Arian Foster, though James Casey still has my heart
Defense: J.J. Watt. Brice McCain had a hell of a game, but c'mon... Watt is just a monster.
Foster's 152 yards were the most he's gained in a game so far during the 2012 season, pushing him to second in the NFL in rushing yards. He also added a rushing touchdown, which he's done in 12 of the last 14 games he's played in with the Texans.
The buzz from the game, though, primarily revolved around Watt, the 2011 first-round pick that was a dominant force all night. With a sack in the fourth quarter, Watt took the NFL-lead away from the Packers' Clay Matthews. He was also a disruptive force all night, batting down several Mark Sanchez throws.