Texans’ Hopkins played through shoulder sprain
HOUSTON — Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was essentially playing one-handed in the second half of the Texans’ 21-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Saturday’s AFC wild card game.
Hopkins suffered a shoulder sprain — of the AC joint — during the first half and played through the injury in the second half. The first-team All Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection, who finished the regular season with 115 receptions, finished the game with five receptions for 37 yards and without a touchdown.
The return to health of Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt fueled Houston to its third division title, but it all ended in a playoff loss against the Colts.
Andrew Luck threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts raced out to a big lead and cruised to a 21-7 win over the Houston Texans in the wild-card game on Saturday.
The Colts had also held Hopkins to four receptions for 36 yards Dec. 9, meaning Indianapolis held Hopkins to his two lowest single-game yardage totals of the season.
Asked following the game if thought about sitting out in the second half of the game, Hopkins said simply: “No, if I would have a broke leg or something.”
Hopkins characterized the injury as a grade 3 sprain and when asked if he would need any specific treatment or surgery to repair the injury in the coming weeks, Hopkins said “no.”
“It’s football … (it’s) very difficult,” Hopkins said.
Without his primary target at full speed, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson said he still tried to find a way to keep Hopkins involved in the offense as Houston had two rookies playing at the position in Keke Coutee and Vyncint Smith to go with DeAndre Carter, who the Texans claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10. Coutee, who had not played since Nov. 26 against the Tennessee Titans because of a hamstring injury, finished with 11 catches for 110 yard and a touchdown.
But the Colts, not knowing the extent of Hopkins’ injury during the game, consistently doubled Hopkins both before and after the injury, with cornerback Pierre Desir on Hopkins much of the time with some additional help down the field.
“Nothing changed,” Watson said. ” … Give him a chance. The Colts did a good job with playing a guy underneath, playing a guy over the top. They kind of cut off certain things you could really do.”
Watson said the Texans eventually tried to use Hopkins on some shorter routes to prevent the Colts from getting the safety down near the line of scrimmage to help out on him. And Texans coach Bill O’Brien said he tried to move Hopkins around the formation a little more in the second half, even as Hopkins attempted to play through the injury.
“They were doubling Hop and I was trying to move him around and move him into different spots,” O’Brien said. ” … I moved him around.”
Hopkins had said earlier in the week he would donate his game check — $29,000 – to the family of Jazmine Barnes, a 7-year-old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Houston last Sunday. Hopkins said he hoped to help pay for funeral costs and that he would join in the efforts that lead to the arrest of Barnes’ killer.
On Thursday, Hopkins said: “What I can do, that’s nothing, that won’t bring back a person. I’m not trying to make it out about me or anything like that. It’s the least I could do.”