The New England Patriots’ performance in Week 5 had the makings of an utter disaster. The Houston Texans were simply outplaying New England after three quarters. But it turned out that one amazing quarter from the Patriots — and one truly awful quarter from the Texans — was enough for New England and Bill Belichick to pull off a 25-22 win. The Patriots are 2-3 and second in the AFC East.
The Texans embarrassed themselves with mistakes, most notably on a punt where they blocked themselves. New England, meanwhile, found its identity at the last minute. The Patriots offense, led by an efficient Mac Jones, and the defense, led by an aggressive Matthew Judon, did just enough to win.
“They made more plays but at the end of the day, we had more points,” linebacker Jamie Collins said after the game.
That summed it up perfectly.
Here are the Patriots’ winners and losers from the game.