When the NFL schedule turned to Week 8, oddsmakers early in the week set the projected points total for Sunday's Texans-Seahawks game at 45 1/2.
Whoops.
Thanks to a historic performance from rookie Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson and a huge game from veteran Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, the Texans and Seahawks combined to score 79 points. Seattle earned a 41-38 win thanks to a last-minute touchdown pass from Wilson to tight end Jimmy Graham, the fourth lead change in the fourth quarter alone of arguably the best game of the 2017 NFL season thus far.
STEELE: Texans change protest game for good
As one might imagine, the stat lines were absurd for both quarterbacks.
Watson completed 19 of 30 passes for 402 yards, with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Wilson completed 26 of 41 passes for 452 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception. Watson led the Texans in rushing yards with eight carries for 67 yards. Wilson led the Seahawks in rushing with four carries for 30 yards.
Below are a few stats and records that put Sunday's offensive explosion in context.
— Texans-Seahawks became the first game in NFL history in which each quarterback recorded 400-plus passing yards, four-plus passing touchdowns and 30-plus rushing yards.
— Watson became the first player in the Super Bowl era to record 400-plus passing yards, four-plus passing touchdowns and 50-plus rushing yards in a single game.
— Watson now has 19 passing touchdowns in 2017, the most ever by a rookie in his first seven games of a season. Watson also passed Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (18 from 1998-99) for the most passing touchdowns by a player in his first seven games.
— Watson has three-plus passing touchdowns in four straight games, the longest streak by a rookie in NFL history.
— Wilson's 452 passing yards set a Seahawks franchise record for passing yards in a game.
— Wilson now has seven career games with four-plus touchdown passes and one or zero interceptions. Only Dan Marino (10) and Brett Favre (nine) had more in their first six seasons.
— The Texans and Seahawks combined for 988 yards, the most in any game this season.
"Deshaun Watson is special," Wilson said after the game. "Go ahead and give him Rookie of the Year. He's a great player."
Added a dejected Watson when asked whether he's a fan of Wilson: "Yeah, I'm a big supporter of him. ... Love his game and just the person he is. He's a mobile quarterback that makes good decisions, very good on the run, made smart decisions. He's a leader. He's passionate about winning and he's going to compete."
With their win Sunday, the Seahawks improved to 5-2 and pulled even with the Rams (5-2) atop the NFC West. The Texans with their loss fell to 3-4, good for third place in the AFC South.