Down 22-9 In The Third Quarter, The Pats Rallied For A Yucky 25-22 Win Vs. The Tanking Texans

 

    This afternoon in Houston at NRG Stadium was one of those rare occasions in the NFL when a win felt much more like a loss. Sure, we are happy that the Patriots (2-3 overall, 2-0 away) found a way to beat the lowly Texans (1-4 overall, 1-2 home) 25-22 but when you dig a little deeper, you see the myriad issues facing New England in 2021. With all the mistakes that they made (fumbling on the goal-line, throwing an interception, missing a PAT and giving up multiple big plays to a dreadful offense), the Pats were lucky that they were playing Houston and not a half decent team. Other than say the Lions (0-5), Jaguars (0-5), Jets (1-4) or Giants (1-4), it's doubtful that New England would have beat anyone else on this day. 

    In a battle of rookie quarterbacks, the unheralded Davis Mills (21-of-29, 312 yards, 3 TDs) of the Texans outperformed Mac Jones (23-of-30, 231 yards, TD, INT) of the Patriots. However, like last week when Jones shockingly outplayed Tom Brady but still lost, Mills' stellar play wasn't enough to push his team to a victory. Right from the start, Houston punched New England in the mouth Tyson Fury style on Deontay Wilder. On the opening drive of the game, the Texans had the ball for 10:06 and went 79 yards in 18 plays ending with a 11-yard touchdown pass from Mills to some Canadian tight end named Antony Auclair. The only good part of that miserable situation was when Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the PAT giving the home team a 6-0 lead. 

    The Pats answered right back on their first drive (10 plays and 60 yards in 5:37) with running back Damien Harris slamming in a one-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, he later fumbled in a similar spot. It was a rough day for kickers all around the NFL today and that extended to Pats kicker Nick Folk who also missed his first PAT. Yuck. Houston only needed three plays on their ensuing drive to retake the lead. Mills threw a long pass to journeyman wide receiver Chris Moore (5 catches, 109 yards) that eluded New England's de-facto No. 1 cornerback J.C. Jackson and went for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Somewhere in Carolina, Stephon Gilmore must have been chuckling. Once again, Fairbairn couldn't get the job done as he scuffed another PAT leaving the score at 12-6. He bounced back late in the first half with a 33-yard field goal then Folk hit a 52-yard field goal with two seconds left in the second quarter that cut it to 15-9 in favor of Houston.

    Patriots fans hoping for a quick turnaround in the third quarter must have been pissed to see them fall even futher behind as Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. picked off Jones on the second play of the frame and that was soon followed up by a 37-yard flea flicker from Mills to another scrub wide receiver Chris Conley for a touchdown and a 22-9 advantage after Fairbairn finally hit a point after. For some stupid reason, the Texans tried to fool the Patriots by pretending like they were going to run a fake punt at the end of their next drive but instead their punt was blocked. Folk added a pair of field goals (from 52 and 32) to trim Houston's lead to 22-15 after three quarters. The Pats finally woke up in the fourth quarter as they tied it on a pretty 13-yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end Hunter Henry. New England's defense did not allow another point: Matt Judon (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 QB hits, fumble recovery) continued to play like a Pro Bowler and his fellow linebacker Jamie Collins made a timely sack of Mills in crunch time in the start of his third stint in Foxborough.

    Jones and the offense took basically all the time off of the clock with one last drive (15 plays, 84 yards in 7:00) and Folk finished the job by nailing a chip shot 21-yard field goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. By virtue of New York's (1-4) 27-20 loss to Atlanta (2-3) this morning in London and Miami (1-4) getting blown out 45-17 by Brady and the Bucs (4-1), the Patriots snuck into second-place in the AFC East not that it means anything this season with the Bills (4-1) sure to run away with it-tonight they rolled 38-20 in Kansas City (2-3). New England will be tested once again next Sunday (4:25, CBS) as they host one of the better teams in the league-the Cowboys (4-1)-who destroyed the Giants (1-4) 44-20 earlier today. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott is playing like an MVP candidate and his team has won four games in a row after dropping the season opener at Tampa. If Mills gave the Pats defense so much trouble, what will Prescott be able to do to them? Our only hope for the Patriots to avoid starting 0-4 (!) at Gillette Stadium this season is that they show up (like they did vs. Tampa Bay) in a much more sexy matchup.

And That's What We Get For Putting Any Faith In This Hopelessly Flawed Patriots Team In 2020

 

    Listen, we all knew that the Patriots (4-6 overall, 1-4 away) were not going to win the Super Bowl this season. However, at least in the last few weeks they had given us not only a reason to tune into their games but also a brief moment to consider that perhaps they could be a playoff team in 2020 with an improbable late-season run. That all came to a crashing halt today in Houston (3-7 overall, 2-3 home) as they lost to a terrible Texans club 27-20 at NRG Stadium. Before today, the only other team that Houston had beaten this season was its wretched AFC South rival Jacksonville (1-9) as they already swept that dog poop season series. The Pats already had little margin for error but now realistically, they probably would have to at the very least go 5-1 to even have a chance to be a Wild Card team but more likely 6-0 to finish 10-6. Sigh. 

    Since they have what has to be one of the least explosive offenses in the NFL, the Patriots can't afford to fall behind by too many points since it takes way too much time and effort to scratch out anything from many of their drives. After scoring first and being tied at seven after the first quarter, the Texans outscored them 14-3 in the second quarter to take a 21-10 halftime lead. New England actually outplayed Houston in the second half-outscoring them 10-6-but much like previous losses this season at Seattle, vs. Denver and at Buffalo, the Pats had a shot to tie it late but they couldn't convert on 4th-and-4 from the Houston 24-yard line which for all intents and purposes sealed their fate. 

    Despite their clunky first half performance, this loss shouldn't be pinned solely on Cam Newton (26-of-40 for 365 yards and 1 TD) or New England's 1950s style offense. Wide receiver Damiere Byrd (6 catches for a season-high 132 yards, 1 TD on 7 targets) had his best game as a Patriot and running back Damien Harris scored another touchdown while James White (64 yards receiving, 19 yards rushing) stepped up after Rex Burkhead suffered what looked to be a torn ACL in his left knee on a rushing attempt. Two field goals by kicker Nick Folk accounted for the other six points by the Patriots. 

    Nope, this latest setback falls on New England's invisible defense that allowed Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson (28-of-37 for 344 yards, 2 TDs; 36 yards rushing, 1 TD) to dominate them. The Pats secondary is supposed to be elite (especially with Stephon Gilmore finally back after a month away due to his shady knee injury) but they couldn't contain the likes of former Patriot Brandin Cooks (4 catches for 85 yards on 5 targets), tight end Jordan Akins (5 catches, 83 yards on 6 targets) set a career-high in yardage while wide receiver Will Fuller (6 catches for 80 yards on 8 targets) continually beat the Patriots on intermediate routes. The Pats defense might as well have not made the trip to Texas since they didn't record a sack let alone a turnover. Houston had two sacks and J.J. Watt came back from the dead to deflect four passes which seems like an absurdly high total for his ghost in 2020. 

    The game started off very well for the Patriots as they forced a Texans punt on their first possession then New England put together their best drive of the afternoon: 10 plays, 84 yards in 5:32 that ended with a toss to Harris that he ran in the end zone from nine yards out. Houston responded on their next drive as they tied it on Watson's three-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb. Folk's 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter briefly gave the Pats another slim lead (10-7) but once again, the Texans answered right back with a four-yard touchdown run by Watson that ended with him running over Pats safety and captain Devin McCourty as he powered his way into the end zone. That play was a good summary of this mostly forgettable campaign by the Pats. For good measure, Houston tacked on a back-breaking touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half when Watson found Keke Coutee with a six-yard pass.

    They might stink but I wouldn't say that this team has tuned out head coach Bill Belichick since they have usually come out motivated to start the second half this season. Cam had one of his best plays as a Patriot-a 42-yard dime to Byrd for a gorgeous over-the-shoulder grab that cut it to 21-17 Texans early in the third quarter. The Pats defense at least held Houston to a 36-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn to put the home team back up by seven points (24-17). The Pats had a chance to tie it midway through the fourth quarter but their drive stalled out on the edge of the red zone. Folk's 36-yard field goal turned out to be their final points while Fairbairn's 46-yard field goal on the following drive gave the Texans some more breathing room. 

    Thanksgiving is not going to be the same for any of us this week and when we next see the Patriots in action on Sunday afternoon (1, FOX) they will be hosting the Cardinals (6-4 overall, 3-2 away) at Gillette Stadium. Everybody knows that with Kyler Murray under center-one of the great young QBs in the league-that Arizona is a better team than New England. They are also in the middle of a tight playoff race in the NFC West-the best division in football-so they won't be lacking for motivation. Just because nothing makes sense in this awful year, something goofy will happen like a weather game (such as the rainstorm last Sunday night against Baltimore) and the West Coast team that plays indoors will have a tough time with the early gametime for their bodies. However, even if the Pats somehow find a way to knock off the Cardinals, today served as a harsh reminder not to let them fool us into thinking they are anything notable based off of one solid victory.