Patriots vs. Texans: New England Grades, Notes and Quotes

Facing the possibility of their first three-game losing streak in 13 seasons, the New England Patriots bounced back from a rough fortnight in a big way on Sunday night.  Behind a dominant defensive effort, the Pats suffocated the Houston Texans in a 27-6 rout which never really felt in doubt after halftime.

Making his return to the lineup, Rob Gronkowski made the game's first big splash with a 45-yard catch on New England's second drive.  The Pats subsequently finished the red-zone opportunity with a two-yard score from Keshawn Martin, who started in his return to Houston. 

The teams traded field goals on the next three possessions, with big plays from Nate Washington and Jonathan Grimes jump-starting otherwise sleepy drives for the Texans.  Clinging to a 10-6 lead, the Pats took control with an efficient seven-play, 48-yard touchdown drive which ended with a one-yard touchdown on a fade route from Gronk, putting New England up heading into the locker room, 17-6.

The offense put together the coveted "double score" to start the second half.  Though two successful Bill O'Brien challenges thwarted a potential touchdown drive, the offense mustered enough for a 48-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, putting New England up, 20-6.

The game stalled out at that point, with the offenses trading five consecutive punts.  However, Jabaal Sheard drove the nail in Houston's coffin with a strip-sack on third down, giving Tom Brady and Co. the ball at the Texans' 7-yard line.  A James White touchdown plunge from two yards up gave the Pats a three-score lead, allowing New England to cruise for the final 12 minutes.

With the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos both falling on Sunday, the 11-2 Patriots finished off a best-case scenario Week 14 and are now back in control for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. 

Read on for full analysis and postgame quotes from a critical bounce-back performance.

Position Grades for Patriots

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Quarterback: A-

Running Back: B

Wide Receiver: B+

Tight End: A

Offensive Line: B-

Defensive Line: A

Linebacker: A

Defensive Backs: A

Special Teams: C+

Coaching: A

Tom Brady was relatively efficient on a night where the game plan did not ask him to carry the load. 

Brady went 22-for-30 for 226 yards and two touchdowns, throwing his fewest pass attempts of the entire season.  However, he also did not turn the ball over for just the second time in his past six games, which hopefully signaled a turnaround after an uncharacteristically shoddy stretch of ball security.

Brady's pass distribution was also far more egalitarian than it has been in recent weeks.  While only five players caught a pass, each of them—Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, Keshawn Martin and James White—each received between four and eight targets and had between 23 and 87 yards receiving.  Unlike recent weeks, when the passing game has leaned mostly on Amendola and Gronkowski, this effort was balanced and helped exploit matchup-specific weaknesses.

We'll discuss the defense's strong effort in more depth soon.  The pass defense was the story of the game, but New England also did well to limit primary ball-carrier Chris Polk to 34 yards on 11 carries (3.1 yards per attempt).  If you throw out a 37-yard Jonathan Grimes run, the Texans would have averaged a horrific 2.4 yards per carry.

Other than injuries, there were two big downsides.  Special teams again made a catastrophic error, with Martin's fumble setting up the Texans right outside the red zone.  The offensive line also had issues pass-protecting in the second half, conceding three sacks when Houston went to lighter sub-packages.  These are familiar issues for the Patriots, ones that loom as persistent problems despite the win.

Pass Rush Delivers Six Sacks

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After failing at the game's most critical juncture last week, the pass rush bounced back with one of its best games of the season on Sunday night.  The Patriots earned six sacks and 10 quarterback hits, knocking Brian Hoyer out of the game in the fourth quarter.

Jabaal Sheard and Rob Ninkovich were particularly effective in abusing overmatched right tackle Derek Newton.  With All-Pro left tackle Duane Brown largely holding Chandler Jones in check, Sheard and Ninkovich needed to play essential roles to give the Pats any semblance of pressure.  The two vets delivered on that front, with Sheard having his most actively disruptive game since returning from an ankle injury five games ago.

More impressively, the Pats got as much interior rush as they did in any game this year.  Dominique Easley also came up with a sack on the game's first possession and had a disruptive night before exiting the game with a thigh injury.  Akiem Hicks also had his first two sacks since arriving via trade, including the one which knocked Hoyer out of the game.

When Belichick constructed this team in the offseason, he likely had this type of trench-dominating performance in mind.  After a lull last week, it looks as though there isn't much to worry about regarding the New England pass rush.

Injuries Pile Up

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After escaping unscathed against Philadelphia, the Pats experienced another injury-riddled night at Houston.  In all, four players—LeGarrette Blount, Devin McCourty, Dominique Easley and Jonathan Freeny—left the game and did not return.

Of the four, Blount's injury probably raises the most immediate concern, since he left in the first half and never returned.  Blount hurt his hip on an innocuous-looking run in the second quarter, which paved the way for Brandon Bolden to carry the ball a team-high 16 times the rest of the game. 

Blount had been averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the evening, and an extended loss would leave New England without a natural power-back option on early downs.

However, the injuries at all three levels of the defense will test the unit's overall depth.  McCourty's ankle injury doesn't appear particularly serious at first glance, based on speculation from injury expert David Chao.  Freeny and Easley are a little more up in the air; according to CSN New England's Tom Curran, Freeny's hand was in a cast after the game.

Jerod Mayo displaced Freeny in the sub-package defensive lineup, so his loss shouldn't have a significant ripple effect on the defensive lineup, especially with Dont'a Hightower nearing a return.  However, the other three will be worth closely monitoring this week on the injury report.

Offensive Line Silences J.J. Watt

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The NFL's biggest defensive star wasn't quite himself on Sunday night, as evidenced by the thick black club on his broken left hand.  However, the Patriots certainly played a part in that as well, as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichick did a masterful job of preventing Watt from creating negative plays in the backfield. 

On the evening, Watt compiled just three tackles and one tackle for a loss. 

The Pats frequently used tight end Michael Williams in tandem with right tackle Marcus Cannon to double-team Watt.  When Watt slipped inside, right guard Tre' Jackson had an automatic cue to shift off his man to help double Watt on any inside move, thus ensuring Cannon would never need to block the two-time Defensive Player of the Year on his own.

The Patriots were also just the second opponent in the past seven games to hold Watt without a sack.  Though New England had its issues with Jadeveon Clowney, both off the edge and in the interior, he's not the same kind of every-down game-changer as Watt.

Watt is the most difficult individual challenge New England will face the entire season.  In containing him with a shrewd but relatively simple game plan, Belichick demonstrated the impracticality of relying on a single star to defeat the Patriots.

Logan Ryan: Study Helped Against Hopkins

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The pass rush certainly made life easier for the defense as a whole, but Logan Ryan also played one of the best games of his career in shadowing DeAndre Hopkins. 

Ryan limited Texans' estimable receiver to just three catches for 52 yards on six targets.  According to the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels, Ryan attributed his success on Sunday night to his study during the week:

"

Logan Ryan on facing Hopkins tonight: Watched a whole lot of film. Watched every game he played, every route he’s ran and it paid off.

— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) December 14, 2015"

Granted, Ryan wasn't entirely alone, as Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon provided plenty of help over the top to force Hoyer to move to his secondary reads.  Still, Hopkins was a virtual non-factor on the evening, as the bulk of his production came on a single 40-yard fade down the right sideline when the game's outcome was already sealed.

Belichick's willingness to use Ryan (with help) on other teams' top receivers has generated stellar results in recent weeks.  Given the circumstances, this may have been even more impressive than limiting Demaryius Thomas to just a single catch on 13 targets two weeks ago. 

Malcolm Butler has deservedly received plenty of attention for New England's surprisingly stable cornerback corps, but Ryan deserves credit as well for taking a noticeable step forward in his third season.

Rob Gronkowski: Satisfied to Get Back in the Flow

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Rob Gronkowski wasn't a full go in his first game back from a knee bruise and sprain.  According to snap counts by ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss, Gronk played 42 out of 69 offensive snaps, good for a 60.1 percent clip. 

After the game, the All-Pro tight end remarked how it was nice to get his legs back underneath him in a limited role, via Daniels:

"

Gronk: I’m very, very satisfied with how many plays I played... It just felt good overall to get back into the action.

— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) December 14, 2015"

This was likely the best-case scenario for the Patriots, who were able to ease Gronkowski back into the flow while maintaining control of the game and earning a win.  Gronk still made his presence felt even at less than 100 percent, catching all four of his targets for a team-high 87 yards.  That included a 45-yard reception which jump-started the team's first scoring drive and a one-yard touchdown for his 10th score of the season.

New England might be prudent to keep Gronkowski in a similarly limited role against the hapless Tennessee Titans next week, ramping him up for a difficult Week 16 visit to the New York Jets.  Based on how this game unfolded, though, the Pats clearly made the correct decision in bringing Gronk back after a one-game absence.

Leonard Johnson Discusses Strong Debut

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Most Patriots fans likely did a double take when they saw Shane Vereen's old No. 34 roaming the field on Sunday.  Veteran corner Leonard Johnson, whom the Pats signed just this week, came off the street to deliver a strong performance as the team's nickel corner, notching two pass deflections. 

Afterward, Johnson suggested he had made an impression during practices leading up to the game, via the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe:

"

Leonard Johnson: "I did some great things in practice when guys were wondering, ‘Who is this guy?’ It just feels good."

— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) December 14, 2015"

Johnson is not a totally unknown quantity, as the fourth-year veteran started 17 games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during his first three years in the league.  Still, Johnson had yet to play a game in 2015, so it was highly impressive to see him play significant snaps at a high level after being out of action for so long.

Moving forward, Johnson will likely need more strong performances to supplant Justin Coleman, who is nearing a return from his broken hand.  Still, Johnson at least provides New England with a workable fallback option at cornerback, something the Patriots have sorely lacked all season.