Brady, Offense Continue to Struggle in 28-22 Loss to Houston
Monday, December 02, 2019
The New England Patriots were unable to keep pace with the Houston Texans on Sunday night, falling 28-22 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The final score is not indicative of the game, as New England scored two touchdowns in the final minutes after trailing 28-9.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady finished the game completing 24 of 47 passes for 326 yards with an interception and three touchdown passes.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We are all trying to do a good job out there. I’ll give them credit, they played well. We didn’t make enough plays. Just wasn’t a great game,” said Brady in his post-game press conference.
With the loss, the Patriots are now 10-2 on the season and fall out of first place in the AFC.
New England now only holds a one-game lead over Buffalo in the AFC East.
Patriots Late Rally Falls Short
Trailing 21-3 in the third quarter, the Patriots offense finally got in the end zone.
Brady hit a wide-open James White in the flat who ran in 12 yards for a touchdown to cap off a 12 play, 75-yard drive.
After the touchdown, the Patriots thought about going for a two-point conversion, but decided not too, instead, taking a delay of game penalty.
“I didn’t like the look. Didn’t want to use a time out,” said Brady after the game.
New kicker Kai Forbath missed the extra point, making the score 21-9.
On Houston’s ensuing possession, quarterback Deshaun Watson would dive into the end zone on a trick play in which he handed the ball off to DeAndre Hopkins, who then flipped the ball back to him for an easy score to make extend the lead to 28-9.
The New England offense would answer on their next possession, when Brady connected with James White over the middle.
The Patriots would fail on the two-point conversion, making the score 28-15.
The problem for the Patriots on the drive was that there did not appear to be much urgency.
The drive took over six minutes.
The New England defense would force the Texans to punt on their ensuing possession, but had to use the remainder of their timeouts.
On what would be the Patriots' final offensive possession, Brady connected with Edelman for a touchdown from 20 yards out to make the score 28-22 after a Forbath extra point sailed through the uprights.
Edelman finished the game with six catches on 12 targets for 106 yards and a touchdown.
New England would not be able to recover an onside kick, ending the game.
Early Offensive Problems Cost Patriots
Entering the game, the Patriots were ranked as one of the worst red zone offenses in the NFL, ranking 25th overall.
Those problems continued on Sunday and it showed during the Patriots opening drive.
After the Texans went 3-and-out on their first possession, the Patriots offense started on its own 26-yard line and drove all the way to the Houston five-yard line.
From the Houston five-yard line, Brady threw two incomplete passes, one intended for Jakobi Meyers and another intended for Phillip Dorsett.
That resulted in New England kicking a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
After the Patriots defense forced another Texans punt, the New England offense took over possession at their own 19-yard line with a chance to add to the lead.
However, it ended in disaster.
On third and 4 from the New England 25, Brady’s pass intended for N’Keal Harry was intercepted by Houston’s Bradley Robey.
Three plays later, Watson found Duke Johnson in the end zone to give the Texans a 7-3 lead.
That was Harry’s only target of the game.
After the New England offense punted on their next possession, the Texans would build on their lead.
Houston would go on a 13 play, 88-yard drive resulting in a touchdown pass from Watson to Darren Fells to take a 14-3 lead.
Houston would take that lead into the break.
Patriots Defense Breaks Down
In the third quarter, the Texans would add to their lead when Watson connected with Kenny Stills on a 35-yard touchdown pass to give the Texans a 21-3 lead.
Prior to that play, Watson connected with Will Fuller on a similar touchdown pass, but upon review, the play was ruled incomplete as Fuller dropped it at the very end.
The target on both plays was defensive back Jonathan Jones, who was in the game due to Jason McCourty being inactive with an injury.
“Stills made a tough catch on a double move on a shot play where we didn’t really have someone in the middle on that call. They got us in a good call, two good players. That quarterback kinda throws it out there, J Jones is an inch away from making a play,” said Devin McCourty after the game.
Next Up
The Patriots return to action on Sunday, December 8 when they host the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium.
The game will be a rematch of last season's AFC Championship game in which New England beat Kansas City in overtime to advance to the Super Bowl.
Game time is set for 4:25 p.m.
PHOTO: Jeffrey Beall/Wikipedia
Related Articles
- NEW: Patriots Place Josh Gordon on Season Ending Injured Reserve
- Patriots Acquire Wide Receiver Mohamed Sanu From Atlanta
- NEW: Patriots Trade Bennett to Dallas for 7th Round Pick
- What to Watch For: Browns vs Patriots
- NEW: Patriots Beat Browns 27-13 Behind Big Day from Defense & Edelman
- Patriots Defense Continues Domination in 33-0 Victory Over Jets
- What to Watch For: Patriots vs Jets
- RI Resident Honored by Patriots for Volunteer Work with American Cancer Society
- Patriots Re-Sign Tight End Ben Watson
- Patriots Rookie Receiver N’Keal Harry Returned to Practice on Tuesday
- NEW: Patriots Suspend Michael Bennett 1 Week for Conduct Detrimental to Team
- NEW: Patriots Sign Kicker Nick Folk After Releasing Nugent
- Patriots’ Kraft Heard Blasting Trump Over Kneeling Controversy at 2017 NFL Meeting
- NEW: Patriots Activate Left Tackle Isaiah Wynn to 53-Man Roster
- What to Watch For: Cowboys vs Patriots
- Five Things to Know About the Patriots Win Over the Cowboys
