Belichick And Pats Rout Texans At Home

Love ’em or hate ’em, there’s no denying that the Patriots are able to make the most of the tools they have. Working short staffed, Bill Belichick squared off against his former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien in a matchup at Foxboro. Belichick and the Pats were able to take advantage of three key turnovers and rout the Houston Texans, 27-0.

Jacoby Brissett made his first start in the NFL, coming off the bench as a third-string rookie quarterback behind the suspended Tom Brady and injured Jimmy Garoppolo. There’s no denying his effectiveness as he passed for 103 yards (11 of 19). He also rushed for 48 yards, including one impressive 27-yard bootleg late in the first quarter that ended as he dove into the end zone for a touchdown. (Of note, Brissett is the first rookie to start a Patriots game since Drew Bledsoe in 1993.)

While these numbers aren’t amazing, they were solid enough as the Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels weaved a multifaceted attack that made the most of Brissett’s strengths. The Patriots rushed for 185 yards on 39 attempts. In passing, Brissett used quick, short passes that spread the ball among five different receivers. The offensive line did an outstanding job as well, holding last year’s Texans NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt to only two tackle assists the entire game.

After the game, the Texans defensive end said, “[T]hey (The Patriots) did a great job in the run game… and he (Brissett) played well being in a tough situation.”

While the offense was holding their own, the defense was able to counter the Texans with deep safeties in a textbook Tampa 2 defense. This pushed the Texans into a relatively conservative game plan, playing the short field. Despite the Texans previous success in this type of game, the Patriots were able to keep Lamar Miller to a 3.3-yard average on 21 rushes. The deepest the Texans could penetrate against a tough Pats defense was to the New England 35-yard line at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

While the Patriots offense and defense were effective, the best game of the night was played by the Patriots special teams. Led by place kicker Stephen Gostkowski and punter Ryan Allen, the Pats were able to keep the Texans pinned deep inside their own territory, forcing the long fields. Combining with that, the Pats were also able to force two turnovers on kickoff returns and capitalized on them with quick scoring on the short field.

During the post-game interview, Texans coach Bill O’Brien acknowledged this, saying, “[C]an’t turn the ball over twice on special teams…Look, it was just not a good night.”

The turning point in the matchup came early in the night as the game entered the second quarter. The Texans were making solid progress down the field until Pats linebacker Jamie Collins picked off Texans QB Brock Osweiler and ran it back 18 yards to the Texans 43. After that, the Texans game never seemed to recover.

Key performances during this matchup include Jamie Collins with his interception and 14 tackles and a solid rushing performance by LeGarrette Blount. Blount ran 24 times for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. The last one came in the fourth quarter to hammer the final nail in the coffin as the Pats completed their rout of the Texans.

This 226th win pushed Belichick up to fourth in the all-time winningest coaches in the NFL, tying with Hall of Fame Green Bay Packers coach Curly Lambeau. The next coaches on the list are Tom Landry (250), George Halas (318), and Don Shula (328).

Next, the 3-0 Patriots turn to another home game against the Buffalo Bills (0-2) in a one-sided matchup. That game also marks the last game where Tom Brady will be on the sidelines as his “Deflategate” suspension ends.

[Featured Image by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]