OAKLAND, Calif. -- There was a gleam in J.J. Watt's eye as he talked about the touchdown pass he caught from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the first quarter against the Oakland Raiders.

He rather enjoyed being on offense, and he knows many of his teammates would like it, too. And while the play was a lot of fun for Watt, for his teammates to see, while it made Watt feel "like a kid," he, his teammates and his coaches all know this wasn't some sort of gimmick.

"That's not a trick play at all," Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "I think it's good, sound football. I thought we called that play at the right time. They had stuffed us [on the play before]. ... We ran it on first down and didn't get anything, I think we lost half a yard. And then with that call on second down, it was good. It was good timing of the call and J.J. made a nice play."

It speaks to the creativity of this coaching staff and their willingness to depart from the mundane.

Last year after Watt ran a goal-line offensive play during training camp, former coach Gary Kubiak laughed off the thought of using Watt on offense. Watt lobbied then, and it didn't work. But he still put time in on the Jugs machines, joining receivers after training camp practices, working on his hands just in case.

Watt's long arms and sure hands, combined with his size, make him an easy target for a quarterback.

The ball took a while to get to him. Some of his teammates didn't even realize Watt was in, until they saw an arm with an elbow brace raised in the air.

"I saw the little brace go up and I said ‘Oh, that’s J.J.,'" safety Danieal Manning said.

They might see it again some time. After all, Mike Vrabel became a goal-line specialist as a linebacker in his playing days. He caught 10 passes, all of them for touchdowns. It's a switch that can work, and few teams have someone better to try.