Texans at Patriots: Highlights, score and recap
By Matt Kerns
The New England Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 27-0 on Thursday Night Football with rookie Jacoby Brissett starting at quarterback.
Maybe we’ll learn to stop betting against the New England Patriots? I thought we learned after Week 1?! I guess not. As the underdogs at home, New England dominated with a rookie quarterback against a top five defense. This team looks downright scary, and they’re still without their future Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady. This walloping of the Texans was not what most expected from this game,
The $72 million dollar contract the Texans gave quarterback Brock Osweiler is looking a bit questionable at this point. When they gave him the deal, many had mixed opinions on the deal, but fast forward to now and Osweiler has yet to live up to the hype. It’s too early to come to conclusions, but from what we’ve seen in this early season, Osweiler has been inaccurate at times and has failed to take care of the football early on.
Houston attempted to run the rock at will against the Patriots’ front seven, but failed to do so effectively. Within their first two drives, they gave running back Lamar Miller eight touches, including a handoff on a third and eight, which was a very conservative play call.
Houston tried to run to set up their deep passing game, but New England shut down the run and then locked down receivers Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins had some flashes, making a few nice catches on Pats corner Logan Ryan, but other than that it was a quiet day for the offense of the Texans. Hopkins finished with four catches for 56 yards.
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The rookie Fuller had a rough night. Cornerback Malcolm Butler gave him all sorts of fits, locking him down in man-to-man coverage. Butler also had a drop on a play where he tried to catch the ball using his body, an issue we’ve seen a few times this year. There’s no doubt he’s going to be a great playmaker for this offense, but he needs to become a better hands catcher. He finished the night with 31 yards on three receptions.
What was so impressive was the fact that Bill Belichick had this team so prepared on such a short week. Despite losing their Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots were able to overcome the loss and did all of the little things, whether it was converting on third and short, recovering a fumble or checking down to the easy target. This team is fun to watch, and as a football fan, one has to admire how this team functions from the top down.
Highlights
Here is the only highlight for the Texans on this run stuff.
As always, Belichick puts his players in the best position to thrive. That was no exception with the rookie Brissett. This designed optioned run was called at the perfect time, against a susceptible Houston defense.
The only touchdown for the young QB came on the ground on a play fake stretch.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779124866058289152
Middle linebacker/defensive end Jamie Collins had a heck of the night. He was all over the field and had this interception.
New England, as drawn up by Phill Simms, is in Tampa 2 coverage. The corners are locked in man coverage and the safeties each have the deep halves split. Collins plays at the depth the safeties would typially play at and cuts right in front of the throw from Osweiler, who had a rough night.
This was a great play call by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on third and long. Despite the pressure off the edge, Brissett stays cool and collective in the pocket and delivers this well-thrown ball to Amendola for the first.
LeGarrette Blount scored this 41-yard touchdown to seal the deal.
https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/779156466959691776
It was one of two touchdowns for Blount on the night. He had 105 yards on 24 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He’s put together two straight 100+ yard rushing games in back-to-back weeks.
3 Stars of the Night
1. Malcolm Butler
Butler, as mentioned above, shut down Fuller. Fuller had seven targets on the night but only caught three balls. Osweiler didn’t want to fool around too much as he shied away from the left side while Butler was over there.
Butler is turning into on of the league’s best pure cover corners. While he drew the No. 2 receiver in Fuller, many thought the rookie wideout was due for a big night with Hopkins drawing extra attention over the top. But that certainly wasn’t the case. Butler, an undrafted free agent, is a huge cornerstone piece for the Pats’ defense.
Fuller had 100+ yards in the Texans’ first two games of the season. But he was shut down on Thursday by Butler, who did it with very little help.
2. LeGarrette Blount
The bowling ball ran up and down the Texans. His 41-yard touchdown with11 minutes left in the fourth sealed the deal. The beast tore it up again for the second week in a row.
He ran north and south, east and west. The Texans, who have one of the best fronts in the game, didn’t have an answer for the running attack. But then again, they were on the field for so long, especially in the first half.
Running the ball opened up the offense for the rookie quarterback. And as the season continues, the Patriots offense will get that much better if Blount continues to roll. New England has never been regarded as a running team but now it appears they do with Blount running behind a good group up front.
3. Bill Belichick
Thursday night’s game didn’t come down to which team had the better players in the locker room. On paper, the Texans appeared to be the heavy favorites in this game. The Texans had no business losing this game, yet they did. Did poor quarterback play hurt Houston? Yes, sure. But it wasn’t why they lost.
Belichick had this team ready to play, on a short week, and with a rookie at quarterback. The Patriots didn’t panic; they never do. As always, New England played to its strengths and rolled with what worked.
Next: NFL Week 3: Picks and predictions
He’s perhaps the best coach of all time, and a big reason why this team is 3-0. Of course, the players have to execute on their half, but this team is put in prime position to win each and every Sunday thanks to Belichick.