Tag: Texans

Texans slay the dragon, beat Patriots 28-22

On “Sunday Night Football,” the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots in upset fashion, in turn finally slaying the dragon.

Bill O’Brien got it.

After numerous failed attempts, the Houston Texans coach beat his former boss and mentor, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. In front of a raging NRG Stadium, the Texans silenced the now 10-2 Patriots to go to 8-4 on the season, winning 28-22.

In 2019 tradition, the Texans started slow, leaving the field on a three-and-out in which no yards were gained. The Patriots responded with a 14-play drive, capped off by stalling out near the goal line to kick-in a 23-yard field goal.

Houston couldn’t find a hangover cure in their second drive, punting after a sack. However, Bradley Roby helped out their offensive woes, picking off Tom Brady on third-and-4 to set up the Texans in the red zone. Deshaun Watson and Co. responded with a 14-yard touchdown toss to tailback Duke Johnson.

The Patriots offense stalled after the interception. The Texans did not. After a Jake Bailey punt, Watson led a 13-play 88-yard drive spanning 6:52 minutes, scoring on a 13-yard pass to tight end Darren Fells.

Fells’ second-quarter touchdown gave him his seventh in the season, surpassing Owen Daniels (2012) and Joel Dreesen (2011) for most in a single-season in Texans franchise history.

The rest of the second quarter played out with three punts, New England doing so twice. After failing to connect with his pass-catchers, Brady was visibly upset on the sideline. That didn’t stop the Patriots’ deep-ball passing woes in the first.

At halftime, Watson and the Texans had thoroughly outdueled Brady and the Patriots. Watson going 11 for 14 passing for 122 yards, two touchdowns and a 142.6 passer rating; Brady going 7 for 19 passing for 82 yards, an interception and a 28.8 passer rating.

The Texans led 14-3 heading into the second half, where the Patriots received the ball.

New England did not come out of the gates firing in the second half. Instead, Bradley Roby did. He made up for a negated interception (holding) with a 10-yard sack to force a punt. The Texans returned the favor with a three-and-out of their own.

Following anemic offensive drives by both teams to start the second half, the Patriots began rolling with a 32-yard James White rush. Their momentum stopped there, with Johnathan Joseph breaking up a fourth-and-1 pass attempt to Mohamed Sanu.

While the Patriots starved, the Texans were gaining weight. Six plays after the turnover on downs, Watson found Kenny Stills deep for a 35-yard touchdown reception. The score followed a touchdown reversed due to a Will Fuller drop.

Naturally, Watson celebrated by playing an air guitar.

Brady wouldn’t go down, of course. The Patriots mustered up a 12-play, 75-yard drive spanning 5:30 minutes, scoring on a 12-yard toss to White. They marched down the field despite facing third-and-17 and first-and-30 on consecutive downs.

Forbath missed an extra point for the Patriots, giving Houston a 12-point lead heading into the final 15 minutes of play.

To begin their efforts of staving off New England, the Texans spent 5:18 minutes to hit nine plays for 75 yards. The touchdown to get their lead to 28-9 was interesting, to say the least.

On first-and-goal, did a handoff to Duke Johnson, who pitched it to DeAndre Hopkins, who then tossed it to Watson for a six-yard touchdown.

The score was charged as a passing touchdown, giving Hopkins a stat line of 1 for 1 passing for six yards and a score. Watson now has an NFL reception logged.

A play that the nation’s eyes had never seen before; one so far up O’Brien’s sleeve that he likely had trouble finding it; one that made the “Philly Special” look normal.

Ultimately, the Texans took their trick play to the bank. The Patriots found paydirt via an 11-yard toss to White. Then, again, they found the endzone, as Brady connected with Edelman on a 20-yard pass with less than a minute left.

Edelman’s score gave the sum of Harris County collective heart attacks. However, a recovered onside kick (knocked out of bounds) settled those. The Texans got into victory formation and won.

From the quarterbacking standpoints, Watson went 18 for 25 for 234 yards, three touchdowns and a 140.7 passer rating. He also caught a six-yard touchdown pass. Brady went 24 for 47 for 326 yards, three touchdowns, an interception and an 85.9 passer rating.

Summary

While both teams started off slow, the Texans picked it up after the Patriots scored the first points of the game, a field goal. 21 unanswered points gave Houston an insurmountable lead, which the Patriots were unable to overcome throughout a surprising Texans victory.

Turning point

While not a game-breaking play, Johnathan Joseph’s pass breakup on 4th-and-1 with7:14 left in the third quarter was a turning point. It halted any offensive momentum the Patriots gained on the drive. Instead of getting much-needed points, the Texans got the ball back.

Unique stat

Texans: It was the coming-out party for second-year outside linebacker Jacob Martin. He wreaked havoc on Brady, tallying 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and a tackle for loss.

Patriots: Tom Brady had one of his worst games as a pro, and in recent memory. He finished with a 51.1% completion rate, and a stat line largely inflated by garbage time stats.

Scoring summary

New England Patriots — 3, 0, 6, 13 — 22

Houston Texans — 7, 7, 7, 7  — 28

First quarter

NE — Forbath  23 kick, 7:07

HTX — Johnson 14 pass from Watson, 0:45

Second quarter

HTX — Fells 13 pass from Watson, 6:26

Third quarter

HTX — Stills 35 pass from Watson, 5:49

NE — White 12 pass from Brady, 0:17

Fourth quarter

HTX — Watson 6 pass from Hopkins, 9:58

NE — White 11 pass from Brady, 3:42

NE — Edelman 20 pass from Brady, 0:55

injury report

Patriots

  • OT Marcus Cannon – Illness (returned)
  • C Ted Karras – Knee

Texans

  • RB Taiwan Jones – Hamstring

up next

The Patriots will host the 8-4 Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 8.

The Texans will host the 4-8 Denver Broncos on Dec. 8.

Texans RT Tytus Howard placed on season-ending injured reserve

The Houston Texans suffered a blow to their offensive line on Saturday, as they announced right tackle Tytus Howard will be placed on injured reserve.

Houston Texans right tackle Tytus Howard has gone from doubtful to officially out for Sunday’s bout with the New England Patriots.

On Saturday, the Texans placed the 2019 first-round pick on injured reserve.

The No. 23 pick from Alabama State, Howard suffered a partially torn MCL against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6. He returned in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, only to see his season ended before Week 13.

Howard practiced in a limited fashion throughout the week before Houston dubbed him “doubtful” for Sunday Night Football.

Before his placement on the injured reserve, Howard had performed admirably as the starting right tackle. In eight games (all starts), he has allowed two sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Backups Roderick Johnson and Chris Clark are candidates to start in his place. Johnson, 24, has started two games at the position. Clark, 34, was signed after Howard’s injury in Week 6. He has started two games on the season.

Johnson and Clark split snaps at left during in the wake of Laremy Tunsil’s Week 9 out designation for a shoulder injury. Each played 34 (50%) snaps in the win, with Clark earning the start.

The Texans have been clamoring for continuity at offensive line. The hope was that Howard would join (left to right) Laremy Tunsil, Max Scharping, Nick Martin and Zach Fulton to give Deshaun Watson a complete grouping heading into December football.

“Any time you can have (Laremy) Tunsil and (Tytus) Howard at tackle, and (Max) Scharping and (Zach) Fulton at guard, Nick Martin at center, that’s a pretty good group and that’s good continuity. So, hopefully we can have that this week,” said Bill O’Brien on Nov. 11.

That continuity will be no more. Instead, the Texans will hope to field a line with a backup at right tackle while attempting to lure themselves back into contender status.

Patriots’ Tom Brady says QB Deshaun Watson is a ‘great leader’ for the Texans

The New England Patriots face the Houston Texans on Sunday. Before so, Tom Brady lauds Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is very familiar with.

Tom Brady has played his fair share of Houston Texans quarterbacks, from David Carr to Matt Schaub to Case Keenum, he has seen them all, including their most promising one, Deshaun Watson.

Watson, 24, will face Brady’s New England Patriots for the third time in as many seasons Sunday night at 7:20 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium. The two quarterbacks, despite an 18-year age difference, keep in contact, in large part because Watson idolizes him; on the flip side, Brady respects Watson.

Brady’s interest in Watson did not start in the pros. Like many, he was lured in by the dual threat’s college days, where he took Clemson to back-to-back College Football Playoff national championship games against Alabama, winning one at the end of the 2016 season.

“Watching him play in college, he’s spectacular, and he’s off to a great start in his pro career,” Brady told reporters Friday.

From Clemson to Houston, Watson’s spectacular abilities have translated. In 33 career starts, he is 21-12, posting a career 103.2 passer rating in the process.

“So, really love watching him play,” continued Brady. “He’s a great leader for their team and he’s hard to stop. He’s got a great arm, escapes. They have a lot of playmakers, so it’s a very good offense.”

Watson has his Texans at 7-4. He has thrown for 2,899 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions on a 69% completion rate on the season, also rushing in five scores.

Meanwhile, Brady’s Patriots are humming at 10-1. The all-time great does not boast the statistical prowess that Watson does in 2019, passing for 2,942 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions on a 62.2% completion rate while sneaking in three touchdowns on the ground.

Though he has admiration for Watson, Brady has yet to lose to the Texans quarterback, beating him 36-33 in Week 3 of 2017 and 27-20 in Week 1 of 2018. On Sunday night, Watson will have another chance to do so, with the Texans hosting New England for the first time since 2015.

Texans C Nick Martin stresses discipline against the Patriots

Houston Texans center Nick Martin stresses that his team must be disciplined when facing the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs may have been tough tasks for the Houston Texans, but their toughest of the season is just days away. The 10-1 New England Patriots are coming to face the 7-4 Texans on Sunday night.

Not an offensive team such as in years past, the Patriots, in 2019, take pride in playing sound defensive football under coach Bill Belichick — arguably the greatest defensive mind in football history.

Rarely does the Patriots defense make mistakes, whether it be playing the pass or run.

“They’re disciplined, obviously,” said Texans center Nick Martin on Monday. “So, you got to prepare for that, just like every week. I mean, every week you got to prepare the same. You don’t prepare differently because it’s a certain team, but you just got to come to work and work every day.”

The Texans must match the Patriots’ discipline. New England has bottled up the run all year, allowing the ninth-best 98.4 yards per game. Houston, who rushes for the sixth-best 136.9 yards per game, will look to avoid mistakes to get the ground game going.

“They’re a great team, obviously,” continued Martin. “They’ve proven that year in and year out. So, again, they are disciplined, so they’ll take advantage of your mistakes. So you just got to be as disciplined.”

Martin stresses avoiding mistakes and staying disciplined — near synonyms. He, as the center of the offensive line, will have to be a catalyst to that notion. The 26-year-old will face nose tackle Danny Shelton for most of the game; a big, bludgeoning force that will take advantage of Martin’s mistakes.

“You’ve got to respect a guy like that,” said Martin on Shelton. “But, on Sunday, you’ve got to be prepared to block him.”

Like Martin, the rest of the offensive line will have to face well respected Patriots defenders. To pull off the upset win, they must keep them at the line of scrimmage, and not in No. 4’s face.

Whitney Mercilus says the Texans must be clutch and consistent to beat Patriots

Houston Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus says the Texans must be clutch and consistent to beat the New England Patriots.

The New England Patriots are coming to town. The Houston Texans know —with a 1-10 record all-time against the vaunted dynasty up in Foxborough — what they have to do to beat them: bring back Clutch City.

“We’ve had some, some close bouts,” said outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus on Monday. “So, the thing is, we’ve got to be clutch in really tight moments and stuff like that. And we’ve got to play consistent. So, we just understand going into this game what we have to do.”

Sunday’s tilt with the Patriots will mark the fifth-straight season the Texans have hosted Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Co. The last time Houston bested New England, it was 2010. Deshaun Watson was in high school.

The Texans have played the Patriots close in the past, most notably a 36-33 loss in 2017 and a 34-16 one in the 2016 playoffs — with the scoreboard depicting a blowout, but the film not doing so.

However, playing someone close isn’t worth anything, other than perhaps a cookie. The Texans, at 7-4, are playing to win. The prior results are not relevant, according to Mercilus.

“Past history, whatever, that’s behind us. What we have to do is live in the moment and the present and all that. So, that’s what mainly what we are focused on,” said Mercilus. “We’re just going to have to be in the moment. And keep laying brick by brick.”

For the first time since 2015, the Texans will host the Patriots. However, with New England standing at 10-1 with an elite defense, home-field advantage will only get Houston so far. To pull off an upset, and subsequently re-gain respect in the playoff hunt, the Texans must bring back Clutch City.

AFC Playoff Picture heading into Week 13

The AFC playoff picture is clear at the top with the Patriots and Ravens but murky at the bottom with the Bills, Steelers, and Browns.

There are three teams that can truly make a run at the Super Bowl — and maybe really two — and they are the Patriots, Ravens, and Chiefs. Every other squad looks to be fighting for a nice playoff game and an exit. Every division is decided except for the AFC South even though the Texans have to be the heavy favorite. As for the wild cards, those are wide open. The Bills look to have the inside track, but they could slip up. Let’s check out the race by division.

Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

AFC East

New England Patriots 10-1

New England had to go 2-2 in their stretch of games that started with the Eagles and ended with the Chiefs. They are already 2-0. They still can’t slip up since the Ravens have the tiebreaker due to Baltimore’s head to head win against the Pats. The good news is that New England has owned Houston in recent years. The bad news is that the Patriots offense hasn’t looked very good recently and they could struggle to keep up with the Texans and Chiefs. After their next two games, the Patriots final three matchups are all winnable.

Remaining Schedule: @Texans, Chiefs, @Bengals, Bills, Dolphins

Buffalo Bills 8-3

Buffalo gets Dallas on Thanksgiving and then 10 days to prepare for the unstoppable force that is the Ravens. They play at Pittsburgh which will be a rock fight and then at New England. The Bills may need to win their final game of the season against the suddenly surging Jets to make the playoffs.

Remaining Schedule: @Cowboys, Ravens, @Steelers, @Patriots, Jets

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What does Bill Belichick like about Deshaun Watson?

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick will face Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson for the third time, and he likes the Pro Bowler’s play.

For the third time in as many seasons, Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans will face Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots.

Over the past three seasons, Belichick has seen the growth in Watson, from bright-eyed rookie to budding star to NFL superstar. Before their Week 13 matchup, the legendary coach sees No. 4 as a threat to their 10-1 record.

“Deshaun’s a very talented player, certainly one of the top players in the league at his position that we’ve faced,” Belchick told the Houston media in a conference call Tuesday. “Does a great job on the deep ball, has very good touch and accuracy, is a good decision maker, obviously very athletic kid that can do a lot.”

Watson has thrown for 2,899 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions on a 69% completion rate, good for his career-high 103.4 passer rating, along with five rushing touchdowns and 301 rushing yards.

Belichick lauds Watson’s deep ball prowess, and for good reason. According to Player Profiler, he is second in the NFL in deep-ball attempts (62) and seventh in deep-ball accuracy (43.5%).

Like the only quarterback to defeat the Patriots in 2019, Lamar Jackson, Watson posses as a threat to New England for more than his arm. He can run. Combine the two, and you have a dual-threat able to succeed in both facets of the game.

“He’s a very good passer, can extend plays and make throws out of pocket, make throws in the pocket, and if he has to run the ball to convert a third down, he certainly is capable of doing that, and he’s a hard guy to tackle,” Belichick said. “I’ve been very impressed with his downfield passing ability and decision making and accuracy on third down.”

Watson did not defeat New England in his two tries doing so. In the first attempt, he took the Patriots to the brink of defeat in Foxborough, losing 36-33 in his second career start. In the second, he struggled in a season-opener while trying to shake the rust off of tearing an ACL.

On Sunday, at 7:20 p.m. CT, Watson will get his third crack at defeating Belichick. If the Patriots coach’s scouting report is correct, he will give them a fight worth watching on prime time TV.

Report: Texans workout ex-Ravens RB Kenneth Dixon

On Tuesday, the Houston Texans worked out ex-Ravens running back Kenneth Dixon and Marcus Murphy, Tommylee Lewis and Victor Bolden.

New week, new running back workouts.

In continuation of a seemingly new tradition of trying out tailbacks weekly, the Houston Texans worked out Kenneth Dixon and Marcus Murphy on Tuesday, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

In addition, Houston worked out wide receiver Victor Bolden and Tommylee Lewis and punter Cameron Nizialek.

The Texans did not sign any of their work out attendees.

Dixon, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, has two seasons logged in the NFL. He was suspended for two-games in the 2017 season for violating the NFL performance-enhancing drug policy. He tore his meniscus in the same season.

In 18 games throughout his career, Dixon has 715 yards and four touchdowns on 148 rush attempts.

Murphy was released by the Buffalo Bills during roster cuts. He rushed for 250 yards on 52 attempts in 2018.

Lewis, famously known for being the victim of a non-call DPI with the New Orleans Saints, was released by the Detroit Lions after training camp . He served most of his three-year tenure in the bayou as a returner and backup slot receiver.

Like Murphy, Bolden was released by the Bills during cut-down day. He has one reception for 10 yards throughout his career.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien: ‘No hard feelings’ over not getting Patriots’ Nick Caserio

Bill O’Brien says there’s “no hard feelings” over the Houston Texans unable to get New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio.

The Houston Texans tried. After firing general manager Brian Gaine after one season, they put all their focus on plucking one of the NFL’s most respected and coveted front office men in New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio.

Led by vice president of team development Jack Easterby, the Texans made an all-out push to hire Caserio. The Patriots blocked all attempts, with owner Robert Kraft settling on the threat of tampering charges to take away their employed, general managing protegé.

Before their Week 13 matchup with Caserio’s Patriots, Texans coach Bill O’Brien spoke on the matter, using 134 words to say, it is what it is.

“I think in the NFL — there’s only 32 teams,” said O’Brien. “Sometimes you work in an organization where you know a lot of people and you have a respect for their jobs and what they do and at the end of the day you try to do the best you can to, at times, communicate and maybe you get a chance to work together. In that instance it didn’t really work out. Whatever happened, happened. There’s no hard feelings.”

“We have a lot of respect for the Patriots,” said O’Brien. “I have a lot of respect for [coach] Bill (Belichick). I’m very grateful to Bill for the opportunities he gave me, and then obviously I have a lot of close friends on the staff over there that I worked with. So, there’s none of that, not on our end.”

Ultimately, the Texans chose to entrust O’Brien and four others as general manager. Since, the O’Brien-led front office has made their fair share of team-altering trades, including shipping off a treasure trove of picks to South Beach for tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills.

If O’Brien and Co. remain interested in Caserio, he will be contractually available soon. However, not until after the 2020 NFL Draft.

LT Laremy Tunsil continues to prove his worth to Texans

The Houston Texans traded a treasure trove of draft picks to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil in August. That is paying off tenfold.

When the Houston Texans shipped over two first-round picks, a second and change to South Beach for left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills, skeptics were enraged. The package, to many, was far too much for a 25-year-old tackle without a Pro-Bowl bid to his name.

Those skeptics are waning. Tunsil has proved his worth. Those over at Pro Football Focus can prove it.

According to PFF, Tunsil has a 92.3 pass-blocking grade since Week 2 of the 2019 campaign, best among all offensive players. His 90.8 pass-blocking grade for the entire season is the best in Texans franchise history, since the debut of PFF (2006).

Though missing one game and earning his fair share of false start penalties, the trade to acquire Tunsil has paid off for the Texans. He, by all means, is a franchise blindside protector at just 25 years old. Houston would pull the trigger, to send a treasure of picks, again in a heartbeat.