Tom Brady best encapsulates how the first half went for the New England Patriots against the Houston Texans by using the Arkanas handkerchief twice.
Raise your hand if you thought the Houston Texans would be within a touchdown of the New England Patriots at halftime on Saturday night? Exactly, but that’s now reality. The Patriots held a 17-13 lead at the half and Tom Brady has not had a good time.
He threw a bad interception and has been running for his life from Texans pass rushers Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus all night long. As the first half drew to a close, Brady best explained how the first half for the Patriots went by firing off two massive snot rockets on national television.
Tom Brady snot rockets https://t.co/LJLghrJlln
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) January 15, 2017
Maybe those punishing hits he has taken had his nose all stuffed up? Wasn’t the Patriots offensive line supposed to be vastly improved in 2016? Truthfully, it is, but the Texans defense has been grossly underrated for far too long.
Houston won the AFC South in back-to-back seasons despite abysmal play from the quarterback position. Brock Osweiler has had his moments where he wasn’t terrible, but the Texans defense is the reason Houston has made it into the AFC Divisional Round.
Brady and the Patriots need to wake up and get things rolling quickly in the second half. A low-scoring game is exactly what Houston needs to get to its first AFC Championship in franchise history.
New England has a ton riding on this game. Brady is 39 years old. How much longer is he going to do this at a high level? New England is the presumed favorite to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 51, coincidentally in Houston. The Patriots have also played in an absurd five straight AFC Championship Games.
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Though they lead entering the second, it was pretty much a frozen phlegm performance from New England for most of the first two quarters.