The New England Patriots didn’t look like one of the league’s top teams after losing 28-22 to the Houston Texans on Sunday night.
In all three facets of the game, the Patriots couldn’t figure out how to gain any momentum. Aside from the exciting six minutes to end the game, the Patriots offense was hard to watch. Bill O’Brien and the Texans were prepared for this matchup and they knew how to counter Josh McDaniels’ game plan.
The Patriots will host the Kansas City Chiefs next week and they’ll see the Buffalo Bills again in Week 16. Although this game doesn’t rule the Patriots out of Super Bowl contention, it definitely exposed some weaknesses.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
James White, Julian Edelman only offensive weapons
The Texans came into the game with a plan to double cover Julian Edelman and to put a cornerback on James White. This plan worked for the first three quarters of the game, and it left the Patriots with only nine points halfway through the fourth quarter.
Despite this intense coverage, both of Tom Brady’s top receivers walked out of the game with solid numbers. Edelman left the game with six catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. White finished the game with 14 carries for 79 rushing yards – along with eight catches for 98 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Two of these touchdowns came in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
It’s apparent going forward that Brady will only have these two as reliable receivers, with Mohamed Sanu and Jakobi Meyers as the only decent options. Philip Dorsett and N’Keal Harry haven’t proved reliable, and it’s put a huge question mark on this offense.
Defense couldn’t do enough to win this one
All season long, the Patriots defense has done enough to help win the game, even if the offense isn’t clicking.
The Patriots allowed four passing touchdowns and they allowed the Texans to convert 6-of-11 third downs. It’s very possible that the sickness that New England carried heading into the game played a role, but it doesn’t change the fact that they were outsmarted. The Texans started off the game with a heavy emphasis on passing to their tight ends and running backs — which resulted in two tight end touchdowns to start the game.
New England failed to tally any turnovers and the only bright spot came from the three sacks that they recorded. This unit has a week to sharpen up and prepare for the Chiefs next week.
Injuries at offensive line becoming growing issue
The Patriots lost their second-string center Ted Karras to a knee injury in the third quarter, leaving James Ferentz as the next man up.
Karras stepped up this season after starting center David Andrews was ruled out in 2019 with blood clots. He has played every snap this year before this game and he’s been one of the more reliable pieces on the line. Marcus Cannon had to briefly step out of the game for the second week in a row due to an illness, leaving Marshall Newhouse as the backup. One positive from the game is that Isaiah Wynn is shaping up to be the left tackle that everyone expected, and he’s in good health.
Brady took three sacks against Houston and was hit 12 times in the game — so, the Patriots have a lot to figure out on the offensive line before the playoffs come.
Tom Brady continues to look human
Brady’s career has consisted of making everyone around him look good.
He’s spent nearly two decades with one or two solid offensive players, and a few role players that move this offense. At the age of 42, it seems as if he’s struggling to be that guy. As aforementioned, the only two players to really gain Brady’s trust are Edelman and White. He doesn’t have a player like Rob Gronkowski to rely on in big moments, and his accuracy is dramatically decreasing this season.
Brady even went far enough to say that he was the most miserable 8-0 quarterback halfway through this season. The issues on the offensive line don’t help him out — losing players like Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown definitely doesn’t help. The Patriots have four regular season games to figure themselves out and create some offense to flow off of the defense.
Baltimore Ravens take top seed in the AFC
Along with the loss against Houston, the Patriots’ road to the No. 1 seed in the conference just got much more difficult.
Both New England and Baltimore hold 10-2 records, but the Ravens have the tiebreaker after winning their matchup this season. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are the hottest team in the NFL right now, and they could very likely win out. The Patriots still have to see Kansas City and Buffalo this season, which will make it incredibly difficult to win out.
Here are both team’s schedules going forward.
