Deshaun Watson Becomes 4th Rookie Quarterback with Five TD Passes in a Game

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson put on a show Sunday against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that's considered one of the better defensive units in the NFL.

Watson only completed 16 of his 31 pass attempts in the contest, but they went for 261 yards and five of them went for a score. His outing Sunday places him among a group of just four rookies in NFL history to throw for five touchdowns in a game, per NFL Communications.

The rookie out of Clemson joins Jameis Winston (2015), Matthew Stafford (2009) and Ray Buivid (1937) in the category, but only Watson, Winston and Buivid accomplished the feat without throwing an interception in their respective games.

Additionally, Watson has tossed the most touchdown passes (12) by a rookie quarterback through his team's first five games. Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota held the record previously, throwing for nine touchdowns in 2015.

Watson didn't win the starting job for the Texans out of camp, entering the team's opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars backing up Tom Savage. However, that lasted only a half. Watson took over for a struggling Savage in the second half of Week 1 and has been at the helm ever since.

Houston carries a 2-3 record into its matchup with the Cleveland Browns (0-5) on Sunday but lost the services of star defensive end J.J. Watt to a season-ending broken leg last week, per the Houston Chronicle. The Texans could take care of business in Week 6 without Watt, but his absence may have implications down the road for a defense that has had a bumpy start to the season.

Even if the team doesn't make it to the postseason in 2017, it appears the Texans may have found their quarterback of the future. That's something the franchise hasn't really had in its 15 prior seasons in existence.