"Clemson Connection" puts on a show during Texans' 42-23 win over Miami

The NFL Thursday Night Football audience was treated to another fantastic performance from two former Clemson Tigers as Deshaun Watson, and DeAndre Hopkins helped lead the Houston Texans to their fifth consecutive victory with a 42-23 win over the Miami Dolphins.

Houston, who started 0-3 this season, is now 5-3 and sits at the top of the AFC South thanks in part to the two former Clemson stars.

Watson finished with more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4) during the game. Watson finished 16-20 passing for 239 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Hopkins hauled in six grabs for 82 yards including two scores in the second half.

"It was fun. Energy. We were executing, sticking to the details," Watson said after the game. "We were just playing free. We got our swagger back today. We just wanted to have fun and try to light up the scoreboard during primetime and that's just what we did."

During a stretch of action, Watson threw three touchdowns during five passing attempts and had a near-perfect passer rating of 156.0. 

Watson found former Notre Dame wideout Will Fuller for a 73-yard score, then one play later, Watson hit Hopkins on a 49-yard touchdown to open the 4th quarter of action giving Houston a 35-20 lead.

"I don't even know how explosive we can be," Watson said. "We've just got to keep working. Today, we showed just a little bit, but we are only going continue to get better and improve each and every week."

Later in the fourth quarter, Watson found Hopkins on a slant for his fifth touchdown of the game and his second to the former D.W. Daniel High School star. 

During the contest, Hopkins also had a circus-catch taken off the board after a penalty, but it's worth taking a moment to watch the play unfold.

The Texans next game is against the Denver Broncos on November 4 at 4:05 PM.