PATRIOTS 27, TEXANS 20
Texans open the season with a tough road loss to the Patriots
Sep 9, 2018, 3:28 pm
It was a rough day for Deshaun Watson. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Expectations were shattered in Foxboro today when the Texans suffered a 27-20 loss to open the season at the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots. It was nowhere near the shootout a lot of people thought it would be as Deshaun Watson and the Texans looked inconsistent for most of the game and the offensive line allowed him to face pressure nearly every play.
Defensively, Houston has something to be optimistic about. Other than an inability to cover Rob Gronkowski they put a lot of pressure on Tom Brady and forced two turnovers by the Patriots offense (three total, including a muffed punt). New England still put up almost 400 yards of offense, but the scoreboard didn’t look as bad as it could have.
It started wrong early for Houston when their first play from scrimmage was a fumble on the handoff from Watson to Lamar Miller on a run pass option. The Patriots recovered and with only 19-yards to go, Brady hit Gronkowski for the early touchdown. It was the first of his 7 catches for 123 yards as the Texan defense had no answer for him over the middle of the field.
For Houston, it was a struggle offensively. They managed only 134 total yards in the 1st half on their way to a 21-6 deficit. A crucial sequence near the end of the half resulted in a point swing that may have been the difference in the game. On 2nd and 6 from the New England 41-yard line Brady found Gronkowski over the middle for 28 yards. It was called a catch, but video showed the ball moving around on the ground. Texans Head Coach Bill O’Brien was caught waiting for the booth review and decided not to call a time out to force the issue. The play stood, and the Patriots finished the drive with a touchdown to Phillip Dorsett.
The Texans defense held the Patriots to only 6 points in the second half, but the offense just couldn’t get anything going. Bill Belichick did what he does best by shutting down DeAndre Hopkins who, despite Houston’s best efforts; managed only 64 yards and no touchdowns. Deshaun Watson was sacked 3 times, fumbled once and threw an interception. He managed only 176 yards passing on the day and one touchdown.
Defensively, Tom Brady only took two sacks, both by D.J. Reader up the middle. J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus managed only 6 tackles between the three of them. Not ideal, but a sign that Belichick had a better game plan than Bill O’Brien.
Houston managed to cut the lead to 11 points near the end of the third quarter with a 68-yard drive and a touchdown run by Alfred Blue. They brought more excitement near the end of the 4th quarter when New England’s Riley McCarron muffed a punt at the Houston 14-yard line. Watson was able to capitalize with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington to get it within one score.
At the end of the day, it was too much to overcome. New England was able to control the clock and hold on to the lead. Houston’s defense managed the get the ball back but with under a minute to play but it wasn’t enough time for Watson to make the magic happen. They started the final drive from the 1-yard line with 43 seconds left in the game. They couldn’t move it farther than their own 43-yard line and the game ended with a 7-point road loss.
This wasn’t a great game for the Texans. Offensively they couldn’t find rhythm and defensively they were forced into a lot of time on the field. The Texans just can’t overcome the Patriots and will start the season with a loss. It’s tough to go on the road to New England and they made a great comeback effort, but they still have a long way to go.
The Houston Texans addressed their most glaring needs by selecting offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery and a pair of Iowa State receivers in the NFL draft.
“The idea was to try to add good players, good people that are young, tough, hungry, that want to win, that put the team first,” general manager Nick Caserio said. “These picks exemplify that.”
The Texans got players that could help them quickly despite not picking in the first round for a second straight season. They didn’t have a first-round pick last year because of trades, including the one to move up and get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
This season they shipped the 25th overall pick to the Giants on Thursday in exchange for several picks.
Their first selection in this draft was receiver Jayden Higgins, who was taken with the second pick of the second round. They added Ersery later in the second round with the 48th overall selection and picked up Higgins’ teammate Jaylin Noel in the third round.
Ersery could be Houston’s left tackle of the future after the offseason trade of five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Ersery started 38 games at left tackle over three seasons at Minnesota where he was a third-team All-American last season.
He comes to Houston to help shore up a line that allowed C.J. Stroud to be sacked 52 times last season, which was the second most in the NFL.
The Texans added veteran tackle Cam Robinson this offseason and Ersery will compete with him to protect Stroud’s blind side as the Texans attempt to reach the playoffs for a third straight season under coach DeMeco Ryans.
The 6-foot-6, 331-pound Ersery, who was the Big Ten’s Offensive Lineman of the Year last season, can’t wait to play with Stroud.
“C.J. Stroud is a baller,” Ersery said. “I’m so honored to be a guy to help out and come in and help protect him. I’m just super stoked and I know I’m going to a great organization.”
Cyclones teammates
Higgins and Noel join the Texans to add more depth at receiver to complement star Nico Collins with Tank Dell recovering from a serious knee injury and Stefon Diggs gone to the Patriots.
Higgins, who has been compared to Collins, had 87 receptions for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns last season for the Cyclones and Noel added 80 catches for 1,194 yards and eight scores.
After Higgins was drafted, Noel never imagined he’d be heading to Houston, too. He shared on social media a fortune he received from a Chinese restaurant that read: “Look forward to an unplanned reunion with an out-of-touch friend.”
Noel later shared his feelings about joining Higgins on the roster.
“I was surprised,” Noel said. “But they’ve seen that 1-2 punch all year. They’re going to be very happy with those selections for sure.”
Caserio said a talk with Iowa State coach Matt Campbell on Friday helped him make his final decisions on the receivers.
“He was effusive in his… belief and praise of both Higgins and Noel,” Caserio said.
The Texans now have three receivers from Iowa State on their roster after drafting Xavier Hutchinson in the sixth round in 2023.
Overcoming obstacles
Ersery and his four siblings were raised by a single mother and experienced homelessness when he was a child despite her working multiple jobs. He is thrilled to have put those struggles behind him as he embarks on his next chapter.
“I’ve got that hardworking mentality from her,” he said. “So, growing up times were tough but now I’ve got my foot in the door and I look forward to trying to change some things around.”
Caserio loves guys with work ethic like Ersery’s and said that’s one reason why they believe he’ll fit in with the Texans.
“If you come in and put your head down and work and just get better, take advantage of your opportunities, you’re going to have a shot to have success and do a lot of good things for the organization,” he said.
What’s in a name?
Along with Noel, the Texans added another Jaylin in this draft with they picked USC cornerback Jaylin Smith in the third round.
“We got Jaylins, and we got all these guys around. It’s going to be hard to keep them straight,” Caserio joked on Friday after they picked Smith.
Then on Saturday, the Texans added another player with the same name, albeit with a different spelling, when they took Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round.
That gives them four players with the same name and three different spellings as the three rookies join starting safety Jalen Pitre on the team.
Doubling up
Along with drafting two players from Iowa State, the Texans also added a pair of players from Southern California when they picked running back Woody Marks in the fourth round after drafting Smith in the third.
Marks ran for a career-high 1,133 yards with nine touchdowns for the Trojans last season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Be sure to watch the video below as NFL.com Draft Analyst Lance Zierlein shares his thoughts on all the Texans' picks!