Texans at Patriots: 3 things we learned
By Matt Kerns
We learned once again the hard way, not to count out Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots, no matter who they’re playing, and no matter who they’re playing without as far as personnel goes. The Houston Texans were no match for New England Sunday, as they suffered their first defeat of the season.
Texans head coach, Bill O’Brien seemed agitated by reporters after the game, seen in response to the last question. The reporter alluded to Houston’s problems winning the big game, in particular on prime time television. O’Brien responded with this.
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It’s still early, and O’Brien is right about that. This team will move on from this one, and set their attention to the Tennessee Titans on October 2. Despite the offensive struggles, they’re fixable as long as quarterback Brock Osweiler can stop turning over the football. Houston shot themselves in the foot more than a few times Thursday, with turnovers on special teams and offense, which New England was able to capitalize on.
“He handled himself great last week, this week, all week, every day. He’s done nothing but come in here and work as hard as he possibly can.”
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett did all that was asked of him. Belichick made mention of this per USA Today. “He handled himself great last week, this week, all week, every day,” Belichick said after the game. “He’s done nothing but come in here and work as hard as he possibly can — when we had three quarterbacks — to take his opportunities and learn from the other two guys, when it was him and Jimmy and then this week it was pretty much all him. He’s just a hard-working kid that is really dedicated to doing what’s right for the team and trying to improve on anything that you tell him. He just wants to do what the coach tells him to do. I’m glad we have him.”
Having addressed both teams, let’s now take a look at this week’s edition of lessons learned for Texans-Patriots.
1. Belichick is the best head coach in all of professional football
Despite the short week of preparation, the juggled quarterback scenario, and playing one of the best defenses in the game, none of that affected New England. They came in, did their business, and took care of the Texans 27-0.
Nobody, not even JJ Watt was going to stop the Patriots Thursday. They took care of him by running away from Watt and usually to the backside. They neutralized the pass rush by implementing quarterback runs mixed in with some play action that set the tone early on in the game. Nobody does it any better than Belichick.
For him to be doing this for as long as he has been (17 years with New England), is remarkable. It’s as if he gets better and better each year, no matter what challenges are thrown his way. New England is 3-0 in large part to their head coach. They all are on the same page and are united, both critical for success in any sport.
2. Brock Osweiler’s struggles continue
Yes it was on the road against New England, and that will cover some of the heat he’s taking. But three games in, Osweiler has yet to play a game without throwing an INT. His INT on Thursday was No. 4 on the year.
While the Texans were able to overcome his turnovers in the first two games, this wasn’t the case Thursday against the Patriots. The $75 million dollars he got this offseason was a big chunk of change to give to a quarterback who had just seven career starts under his belt.
It’s not the end of the world, and it’s not raining cats and dogs in Houston. His play is worth keeping an eye out for though, throughout the rest of the season. He doesn’t need to be Houston’s savior but he does need to limit the mistakes and sloppy throws.
Next: Texans at Patriots: Highlights, score, and recap
3. Against New England, JJ Watt magically disappears
A 3x Defensive Player of the Year winner, Watt is one of the most feared and respected defenders in all of the game. But against New England, Watt falls off the map.
This largely has to do with the fact that Belichick takes the opponents’ best player, and nullifies them. In five games against New England, Watt has a half-sack and one pass deflection. Watt has never played on a Texans team that has beaten New England either. In those five games, New England has outscored Houston 171-79, including last night’s shutout. Houston was the league leader in sacks with nine coming into the game but picked up just one on Thursday. Holding Watt in check had a lot to do with this. One thing I was a little surprised to see was the limited blitzes defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel utilized to get to the quarterback.