The Houston Texans have suffered a blow to their hopes of securing a spot in the NFL Playoffs with news that rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a torn ACL in practice and will now miss the rest of the season.

The injury occurred about halfway through practice on a grass field when Watson appeared to trip or fall but did not yell. He did not finish practice.

Watson, who also tore his left ACL during his playing days at Clemson, is facing an 8-9 month rehabilitation and should be back in time for the start of the 2018 campaign.

The 22 year old was coming off the most impressive performance of his young career before suffering the injury. He passed for 402 yards and four touchdowns in the Texans’ 41-38 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in one of the most exciting games of the season.

The performance helped make him the first rookie quarterback to ever win AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors on Thursday. He also was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month for October.

The loss of Watson is a blow for the Texans (3-4). His Total QBR of 81.9 leads the NFL and is the highest for any player in his first seven career games over the past 10 seasons. Watson also ranks first in rushing yards among quarterbacks (269) and is tied for first in touchdown passes (19).

It’s the third high-profile, season-ending injury to hit the Texans this season after three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt who suffered a tibial plateau fracture and linebacker Whitney Mercilus who tore his pectoral muscle in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in October.

With Watson out, Tom Savage takes over starting quarterback duties for the Texans, starting with Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.