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J.J. Watt: Houston Texans must contain Lamar Jackson in Week Two clash with Baltimore Ravens

Watch Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans (KO, 9.25pm) as part of NFL Sunday triple-header - live on Sky Sports NFL from 5pm

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Houston Texans star J.J. Watt has provided his thoughts on their loss to defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs in their opening NFL game of the season

J.J. Watt says "nobody cares what your excuses are" as his Houston Texans look to bounce back from a Week One defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs when they come up against Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Texans have been dealt a hugely difficult start to their season in having to face the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and then the Ravens - and reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson - in the opening two weeks.

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But Watt has called on his Houston team-mates to "get the adrenaline and excitement going" for the Week Two matchup against the Ravens - live on Sky Sports NFL from 9.25pm, Sunday.

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"Obviously, it's tough to lose the first game of the season," Watt told Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds. "After a loss, nobody cares about your feelings, nobody cares if you're tired, what your excuses are, they just want to see you win, so you've got to go work harder to get better.

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Highlights as the defending champion Chiefs beat the Texans 34-20 in NFL's season opener at Arrowhead Stadium

"You have to get the adrenaline and excitement going again heading into the next week. You can never get too high and never get too low; that's what we're trying to do and get back on the right track this weekend.

"Great challenges right out of the gate. You're going to find out what you're made of with two great quarterbacks, two great teams to play.

"We're looking forward to this week's challenges and excited to be back at home at our stadium."

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Ravens quarterback Jackson won MVP honours in a superb sophomore season in which he threw for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns, adding 1,206 and seven scores on the ground.

He started the 2020 season off in similar vein, throwing three TDs in a comprehensive 38-6 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week One, and Watt says it is vital the Texans look to contain Jackson, adding they are up for the challenge.

"Lamar is a great player," the Houston defensive end said. "He can do many different things, he can run the ball, he can make cuts, he's fast and then he can also stand back in the pocket and he can make accurate throws as well, he can read the defence, lead his team.

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens scrambles against Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns during the first half at M&T Bank Stadium on September 13, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Image: Lamar Jackson was impressive to start the 2020 season in the Week One win over the Browns

"It's a great challenge for us and we're looking forward to it; we want to try to contain him.

"He's very dangerous when he gets out on the run, so the first thing is we want to try and keep him in that pocket.

"But he's also good in the pocket, so when he is, you want to pressure him, get after him and gets as many guys to the ball as you can to make it as difficult as possible. That's our goal."

Watt, a massive Chelsea fan, was also excited by the return of Premier League football last weekend and was happy to see his team, and their new signings, get off to a winning start at Brighton.

He was also impressed by Leeds' return to the top flight, edged out 4-3 by defending champions Liverpool in their first game back.

"It was fun last season, being able to watch some of the young players and watch the guys come up through the academy and be able to make the first team," said Watt of Chelsea. "And now it's exciting to be able to see what happens when you add some big-money transfers into the mix.

Kai Havertz holds off a challenge from Brighton's Solly March
Image: One of Chelsea's new, big-money signings Kai Havertz made his debut in the Monday-night win over Brighton

"I love watching the Premier League; I watch it every weekend whenever I get the chance. This last weekend, we were off because we had the Thursday night game, so I watched all sorts of games.

"It was fun watching (Marcelo) Bielsa and Leeds. I watched their documentary from last year; you kind of knew they were going to break through at some point, but I didn't know they'd have the champions on the ropes like that.

"It will be exciting to see what they do this year, a team with all that history and tradition but who haven't been in the Premier League for a long time.

Virgil van Dijk screams in frustration after his error allowed Patrick Bamford to score at Anfield
Image: Leeds impressed in defeat in their return to the Premier League as they lost 4-3 to defending champions Liverpool

"To be able to put together a performance like that, against a team like Liverpool, who have been unbelievably dominant for the last couple years, with (Jurgen) Klopp and everybody, it was a lot of fun to watch.

"I'm just curious to see if they can keep it up all year long. If they can put performances like that together, they'll certainly stay up."

Jackson has bad news for the rest of the NFL

Lamar Jackson
Image: Could Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson be heading for back-to-back MVP seasons?

Lamar Jackson might be even better than we all thought, writes Cameron Hogward...

After a spellbinding breakout season in 2019, the Ravens quarterback looks primed to compete for a second straight MVP award.

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Rob Ryan: Bucs must meet Brady halfway

Tom Brady
Image: Tom Brady threw two interceptions on his Tampa Bay Buccaneers debut

Former NFL coach Rob Ryan insists the Tampa Bay Buccaneers must "meet Tom Brady halfway" after the quarterback endured a forgettable debut in their Week One defeat to the New Orleans Saints.

Head coach Bruce Arians didn't refrain from criticising Brady publicly after the game, particularly when it came to his two interceptions and Ryan disagreed with that approach.

"First of all, I thought his team was grossly out-coached in the game," said Ryan on Inside the Huddle. "Not with Todd Bowles, I thought Todd Bowles did a great job on defense but I'm talking about first of all, the special teams was atrocious.

"'If you want to get ripped publicly, I'll rip you publicly', because that's the wrong thing to do to Tom Brady. He would get ripped by Bill Belichick privately and in the meetings amongst his peers. How about rip yourself?"

Neville and Carragher's NFL Predictions

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It's Shane Warne and Nasser Hussain's turn to take on Sky Sports' weekly NFL predictions... can they repeat Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher's Week One success?

It's Shane Warne and Nasser Hussain's turn to take on Sky Sports' weekly NFL predictions... can they repeat Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher's Week One success?

Click on the video above to watch Warne and Hussain make their Week Two predictions, with Warne showing the love for Tom Brady and Hussain tipping the Ravens and Saints for the Super Bowl - if he can read his phone!

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