Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had himself a game against the New York Giants, recording eight tackles, three sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for a loss and forced a fumble.
Watt recorded his first sack since Week 2 of the 2016 season and he played just five games in 2017 before landing on injured reserve with a leg injury, so it was good to see him return to dominant form.
But after the game, Watt shrugged off questions on his individual performance because the Texans suffered a 27-22 loss to drop to 0-3 on the season.
"Losing sucks, so you can never take anything good away from a loss," Watt told reporters, via the Texans' official website. "I said I've been knocking the rust off since the first half of the first game, and it's been going little by little. Obviously, hopefully continues that way. It's good to finally end such a long drought, and do it in that type of way. But like I said, personal stats don't matter at all in a loss."
Watt also didn't hold back when asked if it was too early to be worried after three games.
"No, I mean you're 0-3," Watt told reporters. "It's not a good place to be. You have to find a way to win. You have to find a way to figure out what each of us can do better.
"I'm not going to give you some PC answer here. It sucks. We don't want to be here. Nobody wants to be here. You've got to control what you can control, understand the situation you're in and find a way to make it better."
The Texans sit alone in the cellar of the AFC South, two games behind the division-leading Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, and this isn't the start many forecasted for Houston ahead of the regular season.
Watt and second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson were among key players returning after spending the 2017 season on injured reserve, leading to optimism that the Texans could rebound from last year's 4-12 campaign and emerge as contenders in the division.
The slow start to the season, however, has left a sense of shock among some of the players.
"It's tough, you know?" wide receiver Will Fuller told reporters after the game, via the Texans' website. "I know we have a great team; we have a bunch of great players. 0-and-3 is not a good feeling, but I feel like we're going to figure it out. We're going to be a good team."
Watt echoed Fuller's faith in the team, and provided an emphatic response when asked why he still believed the Texans will eventually get it right.
"Because I'm on it," Watt told reporters. "What do you want me to do? You want me to give up? I'm not going to give up. We put in a lot of work. We put in a lot of time and I love these guys.
"It sucks. It's not where we want to be by any stretch of the imagination. But I know that not believing is the worst thing you can do. I mean, I'm still going to come to work tomorrow. I'm still going to come to work Tuesday and Wednesday. What the hell would the point be if I didn't believe? So, you've got to believe."
Look no further than the scoreboard to find hope that the Texans are close to turning around the season.
The Texans weren't blown out in any of the defeats and kept the scores close in all three games before losing by seven points in Week 1, three points in Week 2 and five points in Week 3. The team's quest to kick-start the season effectively begins in Week 4 with a matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
