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.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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