NFL Week 3 Texans vs. Chargers: Deshaun Watson looks to avoid unwanted sack history

Why did Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck walk away from tens of millions of dollars and a likely Hall of Fame career last month? Because he was tired of being injured all the time. Luck for most of his career in Indy played behind an atrocious offensive line so he took a beating like few other quarterbacks. Which brings us to Deshaun Watson on Sunday as the Houston Texans visit the Los Angeles Chargers. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. ET from Dignity Health Sports Park and the Chargers are 3.5-point favorites on the NFL odds.

Last season, Houston won the AFC South despite the fact that Watson was sacked an NFL-high 62 times, which is patently absurd. The Texans thought they might have alleviated the problem by trading for Dolphins offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil on the eve of this season, but Watson has been sacked 10 times, tied for the league high with Miami's two awful quarterbacks (so maybe it's not Tunsil's fault).

Watson can make unwanted history on Sunday because he has been sacked at least four times in eight straight regular-season games. That ties him with Blake Bortles (2014-15) and Jeff George (1997-98) for the longest such streak with at least four since the NFL started making sacks an official statistic in 1982.

The Chargers have a couple of terrific pass-rushers in ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram and they both have one sack apiece this season -- but no other Charger has one. The only team with fewer than the Bolts' two sacks is Denver with none. Last year, the Chargers were middle of the pack with 38 sacks. The 2019 team clearly misses Pro Bowl safety Derwin James, who had 3.5 sacks last year and is out until at least November with a foot injury.

These teams haven't met since 2016 so the Chargers haven't faced Watson. When considering NFL picks, Houston has failed to cover its past six in the series. 

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