New England Patriots: Studs and duds vs. Texans in Week 13

Stud: Rushing defense

New England has held one of the top defensive units throughout the entire NFL up to this point in the 2019 campaign, and it put together somewhat of a respectable performance against Houston on Sunday night in Week 13.

One of the bright spots in the game for the Patriots defense was their ability to hold the Texans rushing attack in check throughout the course of the matchup. Houston managed to rush for a total of 52 yards on the ground on 23 carries, not managing to find the end zone in the running attack.

One thing that was a bright spot was the fact that New England held Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson to a net one-yard loss on four carries, which is a positive since Watson has shown the ability to open things up with his legs at any given moment.

Dud: Falling in AFC standings

Up to this point in the season, the Patriots managed to hold onto the top spot in the AFC standings while remaining atop the AFC East standings at the same time. With a record of 10-2 overall, New England is still sitting in a good spot in the playoff picture and still remains in first place in the division, but it did fall a spot in the conference standings with the loss in Week 13.

Following the defeat, the Patriots moved down to the second overall seed in the AFC standings, falling behind the now first-place Baltimore Ravens for the top spot in the conference.

It’s hard to count New England out in terms of claiming that top position in the AFC before the regular season slate concludes, especially considering its schedule for the remainder of the year leading up to the playoffs, but the Patriots now have some work to do to try and reclaim that No. 1 overall seed and take it back from the Ravens.