J.J. Watt Breaks Hand At Practice But Says He'll Play Vs. Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL's sack leader is going to be a little banged up Sunday night when he squares off against the New England Patriots.
J.J. Watt did not practice for the Houston Texans on Thursday and was sporting a cast on his left hand, the result of breaking the hand during Wednesday's session.
But don't think a broken hand will cause Watt to miss the first game of his career due to injury. The defensive end told reporters on Thursday that he expects to play Sunday night when the Patriots are in town.
Watt: "I broke my hand at practice yesterday and I will play in the game on Sunday."
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 10, 2015
"I've played with worse than this before," Watt confidently told reporters, welcoming any of Houston's opponents to test the injury.
"I don't think it will affect him," Texans head coach and former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill 'Obrien said after Thursday's practice.
Watt leads the NFL with 13.5 sacks this season to go with his 59 tackles, five pass deflections and one forced fumble. If he is hindered by the hand injury in any way that would be good news for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has been hit 29 times over the last three games.
Watt hasn't gotten to Brady in his two regular season meetings with the Patriots, registering half a sack against New England in the 2012 AFC Divisional round, a 41-28 Patriots victory.