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

The New England Patriots lost two consecutive games coming into Week 14 and almost looked mortal heading into the stretch run of the 2015 season. They decided to change that narrative and take out some of their frustration on the Houston Texans during Sunday's 27-6 victory at NRG Stadium.

New England also clinched a playoff spot with the win.    

Quarterback Tom Brady was his typical dominant self with 226 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, but it was the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski from injury for the first time since Nov. 29 that truly opened up the offense. Brady had his favorite weapon back, and he took full advantage.

Gronkowski tallied a game-high 87 receiving yards and scored a touchdown. He made a little history in the process, as NFL on ESPN highlighted:

For as excellent as the Brady and Gronkowski combination was, the New England defense set the tone from the opening quarter. The Texans only managed two field goals and 189 total yards during the entire game. Quarterbacks Brian Hoyer (who left with injury) and T.J. Yates took six sacks, as Jabaal Sheard, Akiem Hicks and the rest of the Patriots front seven overwhelmed Houston's offensive line.

The Patriots now have 11 wins on what has turned out to be a business-as-usual campaign, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Brady wasted little time finding the healthy Gronkowski when the Patriots had the ball. In fact, the two connected for 45 yards on New England's second possession, which set up the first score of the game. 

Brady then found wide receiver Keshawn Martin for a two-yard touchdown to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead. The NFL shared the play:

The teams exchanged field goals throughout the first half, but New England created some breathing room with 14 seconds remaining until intermission. Brady hit Gronkowski for a one-yard score to give the Patriots a 17-6 lead at halftime. Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle described the sequence:

Robertson also had unfortunate news for the Texans after the first 30 minutes:

New England marched down the field on the opening drive of the second half and eventually tacked on three more off a 49-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski to open up a 20-6 advantage. It seemed like the Patriots were completely in control, but Trey Wingo of ESPN had a word of warning:

The Patriots stuck to a concerning pattern when Martin muffed a punt early in the third quarter, as Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com noted:

That put the Texans at the New England 21-yard line, and they elected to go for 4th-and-4 but failed. Sports Illustrated said the "Patriots' coverage plan, and skill of the defenders, [was] making life very hard for the Texans," but Christopher Price of WEEI at least agreed with the decision-making:

That was the end of Houston's chances.

Things took a turn for the worse on the Texans' next possession when they were knocked out of field-goal range as Hoyer fumbled on a sack and lost 23 yards. Nick Kostos of CBS Sports provided an apt comparison for the Houston offense:

The Houston defense continued to keep the home team within striking distance, but Hoyer and Company failed to do anything and faced a 20-6 deficit heading into the final quarter. Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated did not hold back on his opinion of the offensive line:

The offensive line struck again when Sheard tallied his second strip-sack of the game early in the fourth quarter and set the Patriots up inside the 10-yard line. Robert Mays of the Monday Morning Quarterback put things best from Houston's perspective:

James White converted on the chance with a touchdown run and put the game away at 27-6 with 12:04 remaining. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle was already looking ahead to the Texans' next game:

Even with the outcome largely determined, the Texans kept Hoyer in the game for the next drive. Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle didn't agree with the decision: 

Hoyer took a hard hit on another failed fourth down, and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle said the quarterback went to the locker room while T.J. Yates warmed up. Hoyer was evaluated for a concussion, per the Texans PR.

Yates and the Houston offense never truly threatened, and New England ran much of the clock out with running back Brandon Bolden, who was in the game because LeGarrette Blount was out with an injury. At least Houston could point to Jadeveon Clowney's outing as one bright spot, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston noted:

Clowney was far from enough, though, and Brady went into victory formation at the end of the 27-6 win. Just like that, the Patriots are again in control of their AFC destiny.

What's Next?

The Denver Broncos (10-3) and Cincinnati Bengals (10-3) both lost Sunday, which makes New England's 11th win of the season all the more important. They now own the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs with three games remaining and look like the dominant force they were earlier in the year with a healthy Gronkowski.

Next up is a date in Foxborough with the 3-10 Tennessee Titans before another home tilt, this time inside the division against the 8-5 New York Jets, followed by a trip to the 5-7 Miami Dolphins to close the year. Even winning two of those games may be enough to clinch the top spot, although Denver does own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Patriots.

As for the Texans, they are tied with the Indianapolis Colts at 6-7 atop the dismal AFC South and one game ahead of the 5-8 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Texans play the Colts and Jaguars in their final three games (with a contest against the Titans in the middle), so they still control their own destiny, despite Sunday's disappointing loss.

Postgame Reaction

The Patriots were clearly the better team Sunday, and Texans coach Bill O’Brien did not mince words after the game, per Wilson: “They coached better than us and they played better than us.”

Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins reiterated his coach’s words, per Tania Ganguli of ESPN: “They outcoached us, outplayed us.”

Part of the issue for Houston was J.J. Watt’s injury. The superstar defensive lineman had a makeshift cast on his hand and commented on playing with it, per Wilson: “There were times it was painful, but that’s football. People play with pain all the time.”

As for the Patriots and their health, Gronkowski looked like the star he has always been throughout the game Sunday. The tight end said it was “just great to be back out there with my teammates,” per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.

Nobody was happier to have Gronkowski back than Brady, who said “There is nobody I trust more than [Rob Gronkowski],” per Ryan Hannable of WEEI.

Despite the touchdown from the Gronkowski and Brady connection, New England’s pass rush was the most impressive thing of the game. Sheard discussed it, per Farrar: “Everyone just did a good job of staying in their lanes. We executed the plan. The secondary played great tonight, and gave us time to get there. It feels good to win again, and get that nasty taste out of your mouth.”

If the defense continues to play like it did Sunday, the Patriots will take home another Lombardi Trophy.