HOUSTON -- Deshaun Watson said he is sure that he will play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
Watson was hit hard during the Houston Texans' Week 5 victory over Dallas and had to be checked out by the medical staff several times near the end of the game, but the quarterback said he feels "great."
"Just another day in the office, just recovering from the game, and got to get ready for Buffalo," Watson said. "It's part of the game and I was able to take some shots and just regroup and keep moving forward."
Watson was officially listed as limited in practice with a chest injury on Wednesday.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Watson was hit four times outside of the pocket against the Cowboys, and those are often the most physical shots he absorbs. He also took four hits on the run in Week 4 against the Colts. Watson has been hit 55 times in five games and has been sacked 18 times.
Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said he and the coaching staff constantly work with Watson to make sure he is not putting himself in a dangerous situation with the hits he's taking, but acknowledged that his quarterback is "a great competitor."
"As he goes through his career, there will be times when he needs to make the decision to slide or get out of bounds, but there were some plays [on Sunday] where he's trying to score touchdowns," O'Brien said. "He's trying to help his team win. Dallas was very physical, and Deshaun's very physical.
"Obviously, those are plays that we want to cut down on, and we're going to work hard to do that moving forward because we know that that's not a sustainable way to play, to be hit that much in a game. We understand that, so we're going to work hard to try to improve that."
Watson said he tries to take the situation into account when trying to decide whether to go down or extend a play.
"It was early on in the game where we had those two opportunities to get in [the end zone] and I was trying to make it in," Watson said. "But if you put that same situation in overtime and it's fourth-and-1 and we need a touchdown and the ball is in my hands, you're going to want me to get into that end zone, so it's a fine line. You've got to pick your spots and pick your situations."
Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins said he has "no doubt" Watson will be on the field against the Bills because "he's one of the toughest guys on this team."
"He plays quarterback so sometimes he can't defend himself. But no doubt in my mind at all," Hopkins said. "He's learning from experience on when to get down and when to take those hits. But as time will go, I'm pretty sure he'll get better with his decisions."