Texans Coach Romeo Crennel Has No Plans to Sit Deshaun Watson in Final Stretch

One year after winning the AFC South and making the playoffs, the Houston Texans are going nowhere. But some fantasy football owners can rejoice because interim coach Romeo Crennel says he will continue to play Deshaun Watson.

In fact, it seems Crennel has never given much thought to sitting his starting quarterback.

"That question has been asked. My deal is, we're in this game, we play this game to win and there's a season to be played," Crennel said, via the team's official transcript. "If you shut down Watson, then should you shut down the rest of the team and everybody pack up and go home for three games left?"

The Texans (4-9) were officially eliminated from the playoffs last week. Most of the year has been a mess, and Bill O'Brien was fired as coach and general manager after an 0-4 start. But Crennel would like to see a strong finish to the season.

"We're in the NFL and there's certain rules about playing," he said. "I think that probably if you shut down your team and left and didn't play the games, there'd be a tremendous fine involved. So, we're going to play the games and try to win as many as we can."

Crennel has a point. If nothing else, the Texans can play the role of spoiler. They visit the Indianapolis Colts, who lead the AFC South, on Sunday. Actually, at 9-4, the Colts are tied for the division lead with the Tennessee Titans. The Texans will host the Titans in the season's final week, with a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals in between.

For the record, Watson said he wants to continue to play.

"You want players who want to be out there and then you think about his role, he's the leader," Crennel said. "You want the leader to be out there leading your men. So, I applaud the fact that he wants to play and he wants to try to help his team, help the organization. That's the way it should be. ... We're going to play and we're going to play the best we can until it's over."

Watson has completed 297 of 431 passes on the season, with 25 touchdowns and a career-low six interceptions.