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.