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Official Texans vs. Patriots Game Thread, 12/1/2019
The 7-4 Houston Texans will host the 10-1 New England Patriots this Sunday night in prime time. Last time we saw the Texans, they edged out the Indianapolis Colts 20-17 on a TNF game. The Patriots are coming off defeating the Dallas Cowboys 13-9 in the driving rain in Foxboro. The Texans are 1-8 (0-2 in the playoffs) all time vs. the Pats. Bill O'Brien is 0-5 vs. Bill Belichick.
The way I see it, the Patriots should be able to score on the Texans 25th rated pass defense and 20th rated overall defense. The question will be, can the Texans keep up against the #2 rated Pats defense? It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but until the Texans can show they can get the job done, I see it going the Patriots way.... Patriots 30, Texans 20 ------------------------------------------------------------------- TV = NBC (channel 2 local), 7:20 pm, Sunday, December 1, 2019 Announcers = Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth The line = Patriots by 3 to 3½ ------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday football: Thanksgiving Early: Chicago @ Detroit (FOX) Thanksgiving Late: Buffalo @ Dallas (CBS) Thanksgiving Night: New Orleans @ Atlanta (NBC) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Sunday viewing in the Houston area: CBS (early) = Tennessee @ Indianapolis, Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon FOX (early) = San Francisco @ Baltimore, Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis CBS (late) = Oakland @ Kansas City, Jim Nantz, Tony Romo ------------------------------------------------------------------- MNF = Minnesota @ Seattle (ESPN) ------------------------------------------------------------------- All the Sunday games should be interesting. Bye weeks are complete - full 16 game schedule the rest of the year. |
How is San Francisco at Baltimore just a 1 o'clock start (Noon CT)? I guess Fox has no better time slot and won't give the game to CBS. Niners-Ravens could easily be the Super Bowl preview.
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Is this the first time Watson had played against New England? I know the last playoff game between the two was when Osweiler was our QB (and he wasn't half bad - there just wasn't enough talent around him).
Per ESPN: Watson is 0-2 against Patriots but the losses were 36-33 @ NE (2017) and 27-20 @ NE (2018). Both of those were September games on the road. This will be his first game hosting the Patriots. |
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A little preview of what we're up against:
Tripping penalties in the NFL are rare but the Cowboys were called twice in New England and the league later admitted that neither were correctly called. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...e-been-called/ |
My goodness, a $10 2-team money-line parlay bet of Washington (+435) and Miami (+435) at 5-Dimes would pay $276.22. Didn't see that one coming.....
The Titans are all of a sudden "not an easy game"..... |
Add a trio of Bengals over Jets and you've got a nice down payment.
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I had a bad weekend everywhere in my picks. Let's see if these Texans can give a lift (only to shatter it further down the line).... |
Gametime!
Texans to receive the opening kickoff. Texans go 3 and out and have to punt. Pats fair catch at their 27. 14:05 left in the 1st qtr. |
Patriots move on down the field but have to settle for a Forbath 23-yard FG.
Pats 3, Texans 0 7:04 left in the 1st qtr. |
Oooh, nice! On 3rd and 4, Roby INT's Brady and takes to the 6 yard line of the Pats but draws an unsportmanlike for taking his helmet off. Texans ball at the Pats 21.
Watson finds Duke Johnson coming out of the backfield for the 14-yard TD! Texans 7, Pats 3 38 seconds left in the 1st qtr. |
Teams have decided to take away the big play, and Watson is learning to counter that. If he gets the ball out on time and stays ahead of the chains it’s game over no matter the opponent.
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Wowzers. Texans drive down the field and Watson finds Fells for the 13-yard TD pass. Long drive that used a lot of time....
Texans 14, Pats 3 6:21 left in the half. |
Booming punt gives the Pats the ball at their 31 with 1:05 left in the half. They have two timeouts.
Pats will receive the second half kickoff so they will probably have two straight possessions in a row.... Pats have a pass on the sideline ruled a completion but shows up iffy on replay. OB uses a timeout to get them to review it.... Ruling stands. Pats at the Texans 39 with 41 seconds left. Defense holds 'em. Pats punt to the Texans 5 with 15 seconds left. Texans kneel it. Texans 14, Pats 3 Halftime. |
A lot of teams haven't scored 14 points in a game against the Pats all year....
Penalties: Texans 4/52, Pats 1/10 Turnovers: Texans 0, Pats 1 Time of possession: Texans 15:00, Pats 15:00 Total yards: Texans 145, Pats 146 Red zone: Texans 2/2, Pats 0/1 |
Ouch, costly holding penalty on Roby negates another INT.... gives the Pats an auto 1st down....
Big sack by Roby..... Pats are gonna have to punt... |
Yes! Pats go for it on 4th and 1 and don't get it. Texans take over at their own 42.
7:08 left in the 3rd qtr. Still: Texans 14, Pats 3 Still a bit early but 8-4 sure sounds better than 7-5.... |
Watson hits Fuller deep for a 35-yard TD but it's gonna get reviewed....
And it gets overturned. No catch. 3rd and 10 coming up for the Texans.... Watson comes right back to hit Stills in the end zone for the TD! Texans 21, Pats 3 5:41 left in the 3rd qtr. |
Brady hits White for 12 yards and the TD.
Pats going for two.... But let the time run out and decide to kick. Extra point is no good. Texans 21, Pats 9 11 seconds left in the 3rd qtr. |
Texans drive down and use a nice gimmick to get into the end zone. Hop "passes" to Watson for the 6-yard rushing TD.
Texans 28, Pats 9 9:53 left in the game. |
Brady hits White for an 11-yard TD pass.
Pats going for two..... Two point try is no good.... Texans 28, Pats 15 3:42 left in the game. |
Brady hits Edelman for a 20-yard TD.
Texans 28, Pats 22 50 seconds left in the game. Onsides kick on the way..... |
Can the Texans hold on for another 50 seconds?
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Nervy onside kick goes out of bounds. Texans ball.
Texans kneel it. Final score: Texans 28, Pats 22 Whew, just had to make it exciting at the end there.... |
Congrats, Texans. Never thought you could take 2-of-3 through the Indy, Baltimore,New England gauntlet.
Now it's Denver, Tennessee twice and Tampa Bay. |
I can now tell my kid to tell my grandkids that I once saw the Texans give the Patriots a beat down on national television. What a world.
These Titans games were obviously looked at as sort of afterthoughts not all that long ago, but they are now critical. I like that the games are concentrated - the team that plays better when it counts will win the division. |
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BTW, Chuck, I'll be in PC on the 10th, 11th and 12th. |
In a confidence pool this week I just said screw it and put max confidence on the Texans. Good week to be a homer.
And what did Josh Gordon do behind closed doors to get run out of NE. Without him they are worthless on the outside and have nobody on the roster who can threaten 20 yards downfield. They are going to have to win every playoff game 17-9. They might finally be done. |
Such an oddly wonderful game. The Patriots, offensively, are a limited team without Gronkowski and without a meaningful WR aside from Edelman. Crennel finally adjusted his scheme to minimize Brady's outlets to the RBs. With Gronk around, Brady had that other premium outlet. Now, the defense can double Edelman, and Brady is left screaming at his other inferior receivers to be something they're incapable of being. How different this season might have been for the Patriots had either someone like Antonio Brown or Josh Gordon been able to stick around.
Defensively, the Patriots are very good. So it was very satisfying to see Watson maneuver the offense against them. Seems like a long time coming this season, but he and the Texans utilized Duke Johnson quite appropriately. I also think, until that deep TD pass that was ultimately dropped by Fuller, the Texans could have used Fuller and Stills to pressure the Pats D deep more often and stretch them vertically. Having Fuller (not to mention Stills) healthy alongside Hopkins makes this such a difficult offense to defend once Watson quits holding the ball too long. The Texans OL did not have a very good game today, but everything else worked regardless because of these things. Defensively, the piecemeal secondary shined. It helps to look better when facing this subpar Pats WR corps, but the Texans have accumulated some intriguing parts which even tonight still haven't really been together very long or altogether healthy. But my fancy has been captured. And while the front seven is still a bit soft in the middle against a better running offense, that they have found a useful cog from the Clowney trade in Jacob Martin is encouraging. Martin was just a 6th round pick a year ago. He has some pass rushing ability with more upside to go. All of the Texans LBs have their individual weaknesses, but the unit is stronger as a whole. Paired with news that Watt may be recovering quickly enough for a playoff return, the defense may be improving at just the right time. The season could still be shaping up for road game in January at either New England or a rematch in Baltimore, but a team led by Watson with a solidifying defense may have a chance at a surprise. |
Now that we've beaten the Patriots, how long before the Boston media screams that we've figured out a way to illegally steal their signs? That seems to be all the rage now.
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Beating the Pats was really sweet and a long-time in coming for the O'Brien regime.
Saw where Watson presented the coach with the game-ball in the locker room last night in an emotional moment. There was even redemption for GM O'Brien last night from the play of edge rusher Jacob Martin for the perplexing and ill advised trade of JDC to Seattle. |
If you look at the stats, it looks like a Patriot romp. Texans made the most of it when they had the ball... My blood pressure didn't need those last couple of Patriot drives when the defense was probably getting a little exhausted and the Patriots were piling up the yardage.....
------------------------------------------------ No turnovers from the Texans. Obviously, that's exactly the way to beat good teams. The Patriots had one big INT and though it happened early, it was huge. It set the Texans up for their first TD - a momentum changer.... ------------------------------------------------ One thing I really liked seeing was Watson with the tablet holding court on the sidelines with the receivers. Showed to me that they don't really need "coaching" to work out how to get the job done..... ------------------------------------------------ Jacob Martin seems to be emerging... similar to Zach Cunningham in build (Cunningham is 1" taller). Lanky LB type. 23 years old, just his 2nd year via Temple and Seattle from the Clowney trade. 2½ sacks on the year. As mentioned by Keith, lots of upside here. ------------------------------------------------ Texans opened as 7 pt. favorites against the Broncos next Sunday. It's already up to 10. Seems a tad high to me. That's the NFL for ya - it only takes a week or two to go from pathetic to overrated.... I would love to see them cover the 10 pts, gain more confidence, keep rolling..... |
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