The Texans' win over the Dolphins on Thursday night, which pushed their winning streak to five games and extended their lead in the AFC South, was marred by the knee injury that forced receiver Will Fuller to exit the game. The injury is as bad as the Texans feared. On Friday, Texans coach Bill O'Brien confirmed the multiple reports that indicated Fuller tore his ACL. Fuller is done for the season. The Houston Chronicle's John McClain and Aaron Wilson first reported that Fuller was believed to have suffered a torn ACL in his right knee. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport later reported that the Texans feared Fuller was done for the season. Both reported that Fuller would undergo an MRI to confirm the extent of the damage. Later on Friday, confirmation arrived. It's a tough blow for a team that's climbed to the top of the AFC South one year after injuries ruined its 2017 season. A year ago, the Texans lost J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Deshaun Watson to season-ending injuries en route to a four-win season. The last game Watson played in was the Texans' final game of October. The same is true for Fuller. The timing of the injury gives Fuller enough time to potentially be ready for the beginning of next season, though given the severity of the injury, his availability next September shouldn't be automatically assumed. Without Fuller, the Texans are losing a deep-ball threat and touchdown machine. Since entering the league in 2016 as a first-round pick, Fuller has caught 107 passes for 1,561 yards and 13 touchdowns in 31 games. His attributes were on full display on Thursday night, when he hauled in five passes for 124 yards and a touchdown during the Texans' beatdown of the Dolphins. The Texans still have DeAndre Hopkins, their WR1 and one of the league's best receivers, but Fuller's injury will put more pressure on the receivers around Hopkins. On Thursday night, Watson targeted Hopkins and Fuller with 13 of his 20 pass attempts. On the season, the two players have been targeted 123 times (out of 257 total targets). Rookie Keke Coutee, who missed Thursday night's game with a hamstring injury, will likely be asked to take on a larger role in the offense. In four games this season, Coutee has totaled 21 receptions, 196 yards, and one touchdown. He's third on the team in targets with 30. At 5-3, the Texans have emerged as frontrunners in a tight but lackluster division. They won't play again until Nov. 4, when they'll face the Broncos, and then they'll enjoy their Week 10 bye. That schedule should help Coutee get back to full strength as the Texans prepare for the final stretch of the season, during which they'll face the Titans, Colts, and Jaguars in games that should shape the division race.<doc-sep>Adam Schefter says Texans WR Will Fuller likely tore his ACL in Week 8, potentially leading Houston to make a move before the trade deadline. (0:45) HOUSTON -- The Texans lost wide receiver Will Fuller for the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee during Thursday's win over the Miami Dolphins, coach Bill O'Brien said Friday. O'Brien said he did not have a date for Fuller's surgery. Fuller injured his knee midway through the fourth quarter while attempting to catch a deep pass from Deshaun Watson in the end zone. He was checked out on the field but was able to walk off under his own power. "[Fuller has] been playing well," O'Brien said. "But that's the thing about this league. I think if you go through every team, everybody's dealing with injuries. It's such a cliché, but the coaching staff, the players, we all have to pitch in and figure it out and figure out how we're going to construct the offense. And maybe some things will be the same, and maybe some things will be a little bit different. "Most importantly right now, I'm very disappointed for Will because Will's a great guy. He's really been playing at a high level." Fuller left the game with five catches for 124 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown. On the touchdown, Fuller easily beat his defender across the middle and down the right sideline, trotting the final 5 yards into the end zone. The pass was the longest touchdown of both Watson's and Fuller's careers. The pair has connected for 11 touchdowns in 11 games played together. Fuller has missed nine games in his first three NFL seasons. He has dealt with hamstring injuries, including one this season that caused him to miss a game. He also missed the first three games of the 2017 season with a broken collarbone. He is averaging 11.7 yards per target this season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, among players averaging six targets per game, that ranks second in the NFL. Before tearing his ACL this season, Fuller had 32 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns. O'Brien said the Texans, who don't have much depth at receiver, will continue to explore options to add to the wide receiver corps but feels "there's a lot of guys in that locker room that can help fill the void." The coach said he hopes to get rookie receiver Keke Coutee back from a hamstring injury "at some point" to make up for some of the loss of Fuller's production. Houston also has veteran Sammie Coates and rookie Vyncint Smith. The Texans could also lean on rookie tight ends Jordan Thomas and Jordan Akins. "Obviously, if they could do them like Will, they would have been out there like Will," O'Brien said. "But there's definitely guys who can do some things. We've got a lot of good players in that locker room."<doc-sep>Texans wide receiver Will Fuller suffered a torn ACL on Thursday night against the Dolphins. Texans confirmed Friday that wide receiver Will Fuller suffered a torn ACL during Houston's 42-23 win over the Dolphins on Thursday night. He will be out for the rest of the season. Fuller exited the game after sustaining the knee injury in the fourth quarter. He walked off the field under his own power. He caught five passes for 124 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, prior to his departure. Fuller will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the extent of his injury. Fuller, considered one of the top deep threats in the NFL, has registered 32 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns in seven starts this season. The Notre Dame product missed Week 1 due to a hamstring injury.<doc-sep>Need Fantasy Football lineup advice? Talk to CBS Sports on your Google Assistant to get insights on the best sleepers and to help decide between players. Just start with, "Hey Google, talk to CBS Sports." To the untrained eye, it didn't look too bad when it happened. Will Fuller landed awkwardly and stayed down grabbing his knee on a deep pass attempt in the fourth quarter Thursday night, but was able to leave the field under his own power and walk to the medical tent on the sideline. Unfortunately, the injury was worse than expected, much worse: The injury comes at a devastating time for Fuller, who was finally looking healthy after hamstring injuries had slowed him down early in the season. He was enjoying his much-anticipated breakout season, averaging 71.9 yards per game after his massive five-catch, 124-yard performance — with a touchdown! — Thursday against the Dolphins. Now, barring some unexpected good news in the MRI, his season will come to a close after just seven games, the second consecutive abbreviated season for the third-year pro. This is obviously bad news for Fuller, the Texans, and Fantasy players who were hoping Fuller's connection with Deshaun Watson could carry them in the second half of the season, but there is a silver lining for the latter two parties: The Texans have a ready-made replacement for Fuller ready to go. Rookie Keke Coutee has battled injury issues of his own, and was unable to play Thursday after aggravating a lingering hamstring injury in the previous outing. But he's shown plenty of upside in limited action, combining for 17 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown in his first two career games in Weeks 4 and 5 — when Fuller was limited by a hamstring injury. Coutee isn't an exact replacement for Fuller, of course — the latter dominates down the field with 4.32 speed, while the former has more impressive agility testing and has proven more adept in the short field in his short time in the NFL. Of course, Coutee also ran a 4.43 40-yard-dash at the combine and hit for plenty of big plays in college, so he's got that in his tool box, even if he may not be the near-automatic bet Fuller is to hit on a big play every game. Still, this is a great spot for any secondary receiver to be in, with Deshaun Watson proving well recovered him his own ACL tear a year ago and DeAndre Hopkins garnering the bulk of the attention from opposing defenses. In the seven games either has played, Coutee or Fuller has come down with 10-plus Fantasy points in non-PPR scoring in six of them. There are points to be had here. Fuller's season is seemingly over, and that's a real bummer. But the Fantasy season must move on, and Coutee is out there freely available in 64 percent of CBS Fantasy leagues, making him arguably the most obvious waiver wire target in the league as we look ahead very early to Week 9. He'll need to get over this hamstring issue, but with extra time off before the Texans' Week 9 matchup with the Broncos, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him out there. And it wouldn't be a surprise to see Coutee on plenty of Fantasy playoff rosters at the end of the season. So who should you sit and start? And what shocking QB could win you Week 8?Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy football rankings for every single position, and see which shocking QB finishes in the top 5 this week, all from the model that out-performed experts big time last season.<doc-sep>
Eric Christian Smith/Associated Press Houston Texans receiver Will Fuller V will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn ACL during Thursday night's game against the Miami Dolphins, coach Bill O'Brien announced on Friday. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle initially reported the fear was the third-year wideout tore his ACL, and an MRI on Friday morning confirmed the prognosis. The 24-year-old has already had to deal with a couple of a serious injuries early on in his career. He also missed the start of the 2017 campaign after breaking his collarbone during an offseason practice. Prior to the knee injury, though, the former first-round pick was in the midst of a breakout season. He hauled in 32 catches for 503 yards and four touchdowns through eight weeks, putting him on pace to set career-highs in all three categories despite having missed a game due to a hamstring injury. He was also in position to record his first 1,000-yard season in the NFL. Instead, his season was cut short. Fuller was having one of the best games of his career to date before going down. He had notched 124 yards (one shy of his career-high) and a touchdown on five receptions in the blowout victory, recording a career-long 73-yard touchdown: Video Play Button Videos you might like Unfortunately for Fuller and the Texans, the momentum he was building in his third 100-yard performance of the season would come to an end later that evening. Fuller's injury came right as the Houston offense was hitting its stride; the team has won its past five games after losing the first three. Without Fuller, Deshaun Watson will have to rely on All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins even more, while spreading the ball to the likes of Sammie Coates Jr., Keke Coutee (who is currently dealing with a hamstring injury) and tight end Ryan Griffin as well.