Texans at Patriots Recap, Highlights, Final Score, More

Even with rookie Jacoby Brissett at the helm, the New England Patriots treated the Houston Texans like light-work on Thursday Night Football

The questions certainly outweighed the answers for the New England Patriots coming into Thursday Night Football in Week 3 at home in Gillette Stadium against the Houston Texans. With Tom Brady still suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo injured, it all fell in the hands of rookie Jacoby Brissett to lead the way at quarterback. The only thing about that, though, is that it really didn’t matter all that much.

Right out of the gate, Brissett played fine, but didn’t do too much. What did happen, though, was that the Pats defense came to play. What’s more is that Bill Belichick absolutely took Bill O’Brien to the proverbial woodshed all night long from a coaching perspective.

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With the rookie Brissett starting, it was clear that the New England offense was largely going to consist of LeGarrette Blount running the ball, short passes, and quarterback runs. To counter that, O’Brien blitzed without a spy and seemingly played soft in coverage. All of this allowed Brissett to essentially settle in and not have to make any hard throws. Offensively, it wasn’t much better. There was little-to-no variety for the Texans on that side of the ball with Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller. To make matters worse, Osweiler wasn’t particular good on this night, either.

Thus, the Patriots jumped out to a 10-0 first-half lead, but the game already felt over at that point. So when New England came out and just poured it on even thicker after halftime, it was hardly surprising. They cruised with a third-stringer at quarterback to a win over a Texans team that was 2-0 entering Week 3. Call me crazy, but this Belichick guy might have a future in coaching.

Three Stars

LeGarrette Blount, Patriots – As everyone could have expecting the Patriots running back shouldered the offensive load. Blount took 24 carries on the night for 105 yards and two scores.

Jamie Collins, Patriots – New England’s defense in its entirety could get a star. However, we’ll single out the ridiculous effort from Jamie Collins. He finished with 14 total tackles, a pat-down, and a big time interception.

Jacoby Brissett, Patriots – It may not have been a lucrative stat-line last night for the rookie, but he also played mistake-free football for the most part. That’s all you can ask—and having a 27-yard rushing touchdown makes it a bit nicer as well.

Highlights

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779116238597259264

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779121426993262592

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779126077943713792

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779144707880300545

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779149278367195136

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/779154291474837504

Next: Fantasy Football Week 3 Start/Sit

Next Game

The Houston Texans will hope that they can score next week when they play the Tennessee Titans at home. For the New England Patriots, they’ll stay in Foxboro to welcome the Buffalo Bills to town.