HOUSTON - J.J. Watt had one of the best games of his stellar career in Houstons win over Washington in the season opener. With No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney out for 4-6 weeks after knee surgery, the Texans will need the defensive end to build on his great 2014 debut this week against the Raiders. Watt had two tackles for losses including a sack, blocked an extra point, recovered a fumble and swatted down a pass. He also was credited with five hurries of Robert Griffin III in a 17-6 win that snapped a 14-game skid by Houston. Of course, the overachieving Watt wasnt ready to pat himself on the back for his performance in his first game since signing a six-year, $100 million contract. "Theres still a lot of things I can do better," Watt said. "It was the first game of the season so Im still working through some things ... I had a lot of fun out there but theres still things to correct." That doesnt mean he wasnt delighted to fill in so many different categories on the stat sheet. "In that way I think it was one of the better games," he said. "Whether it was the extra point or the knockdown or the TFL and those types of things, thats pretty neat when you can contribute in more ways than one. Thats the type of game thats fun to play in." The expectations were high for this defence featuring Watt and with the addition of Clowney, who moved from defensive end to outside linebacker in defensive co-ordinator Romeo Crennels scheme. The loss of Clowey is a blow for the unit, but the team is confident that Whitney Mercilus will fill in nicely while he recovers. Mercilus was a late first-round pick in 2012 who started each game for the Texans last season and said that Watts work encourages the rest of the defence to play better. "Its great to have somebody on the defence like that who can make plays and it actually motivates the whole defence to go out there and try to keep doing that over and over," Mercilus said. Houstons defence got a boost in Week 1 with the return of middle linebacker Brian Cushing, who had 114 tackles in 2011, but has played just 12 games combined in the past two seasons because of injuries. Cushing had five tackles in his return and the Texans were also impressed by the work of Brooks Reed. Reed is Houstons other starting outside linebacker, who had five tackles and a sack on Sunday. Watt likes that the defence has so many guys who can make an impact. "You never know where the next hit is going to come from, you never know where the next big play is going to come from and thats when your defence is really successful," he said. "When you cant really prepare for one thing or another and every guy is doing their part and playing their role the defence as a whole really fits together." This week the Texans will face rookie quarterback Derek Carr, whose brother David was the first overall pick of the Texans in the franchises first season in 2002. Watt was very complimentary of Carr and knows that he and the Oakland offence will be a challenge. "Anytime a rookie quarterback is named a starter in the NFL it shows that his coaches and his teammates have confidence in him," Watt said. "And for you to be able to earn their confidence and trust in such a short amount of time says a lot about you." Sunday will also be a reunion of sorts for Watt now that former teammate Antonio Smith plays for the Raiders. Smith spent the last five seasons in Houston, starting on the line with Watt since his rookie season in 2011. "I learned a good deal. Hes a very good guy," Watt said of Smith. "He taught me some things and also taught me the ropes about the NFL." Watt was a first-round draft pick, but appreciated hearing about the ups and downs at the start of Smiths NFL career. Smith was released by the Cardinals twice and had a stint in NFL Europe before re-signing and becoming a starter in Arizona. "Even though my path was different I still learned from it and it was a great story," Watt said. "He found a way to persevere through it all ... so I learned from him that way, too." ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Kevin Byard Jersey . With the final four being arguably the four best – and most complete – teams from the regular season, picking a winner is not as easy as it sounds. Curley Culp Titans Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-9...-Jersey/.Martin Caceres marked his return from injury by scoring in the 3-1 win at Napoli and he believes Juventus sent out a warning to the rest of the league with that result.We go out on the pitch every game looking to give our all, Caceres said. Steve McNair Jersey . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Earl Campbell Youth Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. LIVERPOOL, England -- Ki Sung-Yeungs first-half penalty gave last-place Sunderland a surprise 1-0 win at 10-man Everton on Thursday after goalkeeper Tim Howard was sent off for bringing down the South Korea midfielder. Ki, who is on loan from Swansea, darted into the box midway through the first half and was tackled by Howard, who was given a straight red card. The midfielder then converted the 25th-minute spot kick to give Sunderland its first away win of the season and a much-needed boost in its fight to escape the relegation zone. Gus Poyets team remains bottom, three points from safety. Everton brought on Ross Barkley as a substitute and piled on the pressure after the break but could not find an equalizer, with Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone pulling off several impressive saves. Everton is fifth after only its second loss of the season, five points off the league lead. Howard saved a shot by Jack Colback shortly before the incident that led to his sending off. Howard opted for a short goal-kick to Leon Osman, who couldnnt control it and Ki stole the ball and tried to go around Howard but was fouled by the goalkeeper.dddddddddddd Ki, who also netted the winning goal against Chelsea in the League Cup quarterfinals, then made no mistake in firing the penalty in past substitute goalkeeper Joel Robles. Robles looked shaky as he fumbled Ondrej Celustkas drive in the 36th minute but did well to block the follow-up by Sebastian Larsson and from the resulting corner, Ki miscued wildly when trying to shoot. After the break, Everton began to apply some pressure but Mannone made a decent parry to keep out Phil Jagielkas header and got his hands on Romelu Lukakus attempt at a rebound shot. Lukaku then saw Mannone get down to claim his drilled shot from outside the box, before Barkley - who netted so spectacularly in the previous game against Swansea - sent another ambitious effort too high. Mannone comfortably dealt with further shots from Lukaku and Barkley, then produced a delightful save to push behind a rising drive from Bryan Oviedo. ' ' '