Texans vs. Patriots: Score and Twitter Reaction for Thursday Night Football

The New England Patriots handed rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett the keys to the offense Thursday night, and he delivered in a 27-0 romp over the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. 

According to the NFL's official Twitter account, the Patriots are now 6-0 under head coach Bill Belichick when a quarterback is making the first start of his career.

As for the Texans, Thursday represented the first time they were shut out in the regular season since Week 14 in 2003, per ESPN Stats & Info. Conversely, the shutout win was New England's first since 2012, according to the Boston Globe's Ben Volin.

Starting in place of Jimmy Garoppolo—who was sidelined with an AC joint sprain in his shoulder—Brissett played the role of game manager effectively. The 23-year-old completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards to go with eight rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown in the wire-to-wire win.

LeGarrette Blount added 24 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns—including a 41-yard score that served as the cherry on top of the blowout:

Rob Gronkowski—who made his season debut after missing Weeks 1 and 2 with a hamstring injury—did not record a catch on a night when he played 14 snaps, per ESPN.com's Mike Reiss.

The Texans countered with a feeble attack that featured 196 yards on 24-of-41 passing from Brock Osweiler and 109 total rushing yards at a clip of four yards per attempt. DeAndre Hopkins added four catches for 56 yards. The pass-catcher represented Houston's lone bright spot, as ESPN The Magazine's Mina Kimes noted: 

Those numbers weren't surprising, considering Houston didn't take an offensive snap in Patriots territory until there were less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. 

While the Patriots figured to be more sluggish with Brissett under center, they continued to thrive without Tom Brady, who is serving a four-game suspension.

The rookie out of North Carolina State kept his nerves at bay throughout the early going and emerged as a dynamic dual-threat playmaker who kept the Texans' top-ranked pass rush in check. 

Thanks to some creative play-calling from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Brissett gashed Houston's defense with his legs. 

The first example came midway through the first quarter, when Brissett scampered for a first down thanks to a nifty speed-option look, as the NFL documented: 

Just over three minutes later, Brissett took off on another designed quarterback run and bolted 27 yards to the end zone to help the Patriots increase their early lead to 10-0:

While Brissett ran for only 370 yards during his senior season at North Carolina State, he's been effective in space as a runner. According to Pro Football Focus, Brissett graded out as the NCAA's sixth-best rushing quarterback during the 2014 season—three spots higher than Tennessee Titans signal-caller Marcus Mariota, then of Oregon.

On the flip side, Houston's offense was anemic. 

Osweiler completed 10 of 16 passes in the first half, but he tossed an interception and averaged 6.3 yards per attempt while regularly resorting to checkdowns, as NFL.com's Kevin Patra observed: 

Houston's five first-half drives ended with four punts and an interception.

The Patriots added a field goal on their first possession of the third quarter, and a fumble by the Texans on the ensuing kickoff allowed New England to seize a commanding 20-0 lead behind a one-yard touchdown run by Blount. 

Things didn't get much prettier for the Texans, who couldn't stretch the field against a Patriots defense that entered the night ranked 27th in passing yards allowed per game (319.5).

Now 2-1, Houston will need to try to overhaul its offense with a long week ahead. 

Although the Texans have the talent to take the AFC South by storm, they've yet to live up to expectations as a potential breakout team. Strong defensive performances in Weeks 1 and 2 helped mask some issues, but the Texans can't hide those warts now that they're averaging only 14 points per game.

An Oct. 2 matchup against the Titans in Houston will give Osweiler and Co. a chance to rebound. But head coach Bill O'Brien has to find ways to feed explosive playmakers such as Hopkins and Will Fuller in advantageous spots. 

The Patriots, on the other hand, are sitting pretty at 3-0 with Brady due back following next week's game against the Buffalo Bills.

If the Pats can improve to 4-0 before Brady returns, Belichick's boys will have a golden opportunity to move to 5-0 with the Cleveland Browns on deck Oct. 9 for No. 12's first game back.

Postgame Reaction

"It was not a good night, starting with the coaching, playing," O’Brien said, per the team’s official Twitter account. "Nothing was good. Will turn the page and regroup."

"We have a resilient team in that locker room," he added. "We will regroup and get back to work on Monday."

"I'll take the blame tonight and become a better quarterback because of this," Osweiler said, according to the team’s Twitter account. "Bottom line, I need to play better."

"Patriots played a great football game," J.J. Watt said, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson. "We didn't play well; we didn't do a good job in any category. We got outplayed."

While the Texans were left to wonder what went wrong, the Patriots were encouraged by Thursday’s effort. 

"You've always got to be ready…no one wavered, no one flinched," Brissett said, per the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels. 

Blount, meanwhile, heaped praise on Belichick after the Patriots boss installed a strong game plan for Brissett on a short week. 

"Hands down I feel like [Bill Belichick] is the best head coach to ever coach this game,” Blount said, per NFL Network on Twitter.

Finally, Gronkowski admitted that while he didn't play a full game's worth of snaps, he's not worried about his status. 

"I was definitely limited, but it's all good," he said, per Volin.