The Houston Texans, for the first in a decade, defeating the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Their offense blew away expectations, playing efficient football against one of the NFL’s best defenses — not in 2019, but ever.
The Texans gained 276 yards and four touchdowns on offense against the Patriots. They didn’t turn over the ball once, scored on all of their visits in the red zone (three) and converted six of their 11 first downs in the win. Let’s grade the individual groups who led to the upset victory.
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson needed a perfect or near-perfect performance to beat the vaunted, No. 1 scoring Patriots defense. He hit the latter, playing a near-perfect game to ultimately get what he wanted most: a win over Tom Brady, who refers to as the GOAT.
Watson went 18 for 25 passing for 234 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His 140.7 passer rating is the most by any quarterback against the Patriots in 2019, surpassing Lamar Jackson’s performance in Week 9.
#Texans QB Deshaun Watson finished with a 140.7 vs. the Patriots, the most for any QB against them in 2019.
He surpassed Lamar Jackson’s 107.7 mark set in Week 9.
— Avery Duncan (@averydduncan) December 2, 2019
To top it off, Watson caught a touchdown pass via a trick option play with DeAndre Hopkins and Duke Johnson involved.
Watson did miss a few throws. He took three sacks, two of which were avoidable from his side. However, he faced one of the NFL’s historically great defenses and slew it via deep bombs, smart check-downs and decisiveness, whether running or standing still.
That’s called a passing grade and then some.