Patriots Embarrass Texans On TNF

Forced to start a rookie, third string quarterback on a short week against an undefeated opponent on Thursday Night Football, the New England Patriots absolutely dominated the Houston Texans in a 27-0 shutout win. 

Here are some initial thoughts after the win:

Never Doubt The Pats- Not sure how many times we have to go over this but, no one should ever doubt the New England Patriots. Regardless of the circumstances and regardless of who is on the field, as long as Bill Belichick is leading the way, the Patriots will always show up and find ways to make plays. Coming into the game as a one-point dog, the Pats laid the hammer on a wildly unprepared Houston team. This marks the second time in the first three games of the 2016 season where the Pats entered as the underdog. How are those odds working out?

Pitching A Shutout- After two weeks in which they didn't look to be at the level many expected them to be at, the New England defense showed that they are every bit worth the hype Thursday night. From the start of the game, all three levels of the defense played close to perfect football, getting after Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler and shutting out the Texans all night long. Edge rushers Jabaal Sheard, who had two sacks on the night, Chris Long and Trey Flowers gave the offensive line fits all night long and forced an already below average Osweiler to throw under duress most of the night. Linebacker Jamie Collins also stood out from wire to wire, leading the team with 14 tackles and adding the pick in the second quarter. In the secondary, both Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler bounced back from a poor outings on Sunday. Ryan handled top wide out DeAndre Hopkins all night, not allowing the receiver to gain much yards after the catch. As for Butler, it didn't appear that the top defensive back allowed even one catch on the night, while playing physically throughout the game and making a handful of nice tackles in the running game. One final stat for the defense to hang their hat on, is the fact that the Texans didn't run a play on the New England side of the field until their was only 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. That is dominant play.

Controlling The Kicking Game- As they usually do, the Patriots controlled all facets of the kicking game, Thursday. Punter Ryan Allen was dominant all night long, averaging 47.6 yards on seven punts. More importantly, six of Allen's seven boots landed inside the Houston 20-yard line, leaving the Texans with horrible field position all night long. Allen's dominant performance was matched by place kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who was perfect on PATs and field goals tonight. Gostkowski's biggest contribution, however, might be his work on the kickoff team. The veteran's ability to keep the ball around the goal line enticed the Texans to bring the ball out of the end zone multiple times. On two of those such returns, the Patriots kick coverage team was able to force and recover fumbles inside the Houston 25-yard line. Both turnovers resulted in New England touchdowns.

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers- All night long the Patriots feasted on sloppy play from both the Texans' offense and special teams units. In total the Patriots forced three turnovers, including to fumbles on kickoffs and a Jamie Collins interception. Combine that with no blemishes from the Patriots offense and it was another positive night for New England in the turnover battle.

Brissett Gets It Done- In his first career start, rookie Jacoby Brissett was impressive under center for New England. While his numbers aren't gaudy, the third round pick was under control all night long as he led the offense to 27 points. Completing 11 of 19 pass attempts for 103 yards and adding 48 yards on eight carries, Brissett did a solid job of executing a brilliant game plan laid out for him by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Blount Force Trauma- Power running back LeGarrette Blount added some strong play out of the backfield for New England in the second half. After being held to just 11 yards on seven first half carries, the veteran back finished the night with 105 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Capping his night with a 41-yard touchdown run late in the game, Blount allowed the team to control the clock in the second half with his second straight 100 plus yard outing on the young season.

Houston Have You Seen JJ?- Huge credit must also be given to the New England offensive line who made multiple time defensive player of the year J.J. Watt about as insignificant as possible all night long. Along with neutralizing Jadeveon Clowney, the Pats o-line was mighty impressive against one of the more dominant defensive fronts all night long. Combined, Clowney and Watt totaled four tackles, no hits on the quarterback, no sacks and no tackles for loss.

Full stats here.