New England Patriots: Studs and duds from Week 11 loss to Texans

Stud: Damiere Byrd

Another stud performer in the game for New England was wide receiver Damiere Byrd to lead the receiving unit in that area of the offense against Houston. In the contest, the Patriots tallied 365 yards through the air in the loss, and Byrd led the way for the wideouts to provide Cam Newton with some options on the outside of the field.

Byrd tallied a team-best mark of six catches for 132 yards, adding one touchdown on seven targets. The wideout also recorded a reception of 42 yards in the game. Over the past few weeks, we have seen a few different Patriots players step up on offense, and Byrd was the latest example of that in Week 11.

Dud: Rounding out the first half

To kick off the game, the Patriots started out fine to only have things quickly go down the wrong path in the loss against the Texans. Specifically, the way New England rounded out the first half was another negative that took place in Week 11.

To begin the contest, New England was able to remain tied with Houston 7-7 after one frame, but later on, went to allow the Texans to go on a bit of a run to push things out of reach before halftime.

In the second quarter alone, Houston managed to score 14 points while holding New England to just a field goal, which was enough to hold an 11-point advantage going into the break. New England did outscore Houston 10-6 in the second half, but that second-quarter performance was just too much to overcome by the end of the contest.