HOUSTON – Some parts were ugly, but you know the cliche: a win is a win. The Texans got a gritty, hard-fought win over the Oakland Raiders.
Here's what the players said after a game full of big plays and major injuries:
On J.J. Watt's season-ending injury:
Deshaun Watson: "You hate to see, not just him, but anyone go down. All the work that he put in to get this point. It's crazy, it sucks, but we send our prayers to him."
Deandre Hopkins: "JJ is a great player, but it's football. Somebody else has to step up."
On the banged-up secondary (Bradley Roby, Johnathan Joseph, Tashaun Gipson, etc.)
Whitney Mercilus: "Our DBs did a tremendous job in the second half, even though we have a lot of guys down. We took that next-man-up mentality to heart."
Justin Reid: We have the depth. We have everyone we need. We gotta get through Jacksonville, get through London. The bye week will be huge for us."
Zachary Cunninham: "That next-man-up mentality is what we keep with us. We trust those guys to come in and communicate."
Texans' first-round draft pick Tytus Howard is still out as well. Lonnie Johnson Jr. left today's game with a concussion. Despite all of this, the Texans were still able to pull out the win. They move to a 5-3 record for the season so far.