Patriots vs. Texans: Full Report Card Grades for New England
Who could have seen this one coming?
Down to third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett and with only a couple of days to prepare the rookie for his first career start, Bill Belichick accomplished the impossible. The Patriots were dominant in all areas of the game, and Belichick is going to be one happy camper, at least through the weekend.
The Patriots didn't just win a game that looked like a very difficult one to win on paper, but they won in the most dominant way possible by embarrassing the Texans, 27-0, in Belichick's ninth career coaching shutout.
The scariest part of the win is that the Patriots won without Tom Brady, Jimmy Garoppolo, Dont'a Hightower and Sebastian Vollmer and with a very limited Rob Gronkowski. It's just a friendly reminder that the Patriots are the best team in the NFL and don't even have some of their best players on the field. The rest of the NFL better look out.
Sometimes even top grades don't do full justice to the Patriots.
Read on for full grades and analysis of each positional unit from the Pats' throttling of the Texans for their third win of the season.
Quarterback
1 of 10
During the pre-draft process, Bill Parcells, who mentored Jacoby Brissett, preached about the quarterback's poise, ability, leadership and overall demeanor.
Parcells was right about this kid.
The Patriots' third-string quarterback delivered big-time in his first career start. While his passing looked like a Madden QB who has 90-plus power but accuracy somewhere in the 60s, Brissett was excellent on out routes and slants. His deep balls were thrown in areas that only his receivers could make a play on the ball.
It was expected that Brissett would make some mistakes; after all, he is a rookie. But he looked like he has a solid future and outperformed $72 million quarterback Brock Osweiler.
Brissett ran the ball with true awareness and smarts. His 27-yard touchdown run off a blind bootleg was brilliant. He took off to the races and powered through to the end zone.
Brissett exceeded expectations and then some against the Texans. He was collected and smart with all of his executions, which shows the potential this kid has and how great a job the Patriots staff did to prepare him for the big moment.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 10
LeGarrette Blount continued his bludgeoning of opposing defenses in Week 3.
The Patriots are trusting the giant running back with a slew of carries, as he posted 24 in Thursday night's win. Blount took those carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns. One of those TDs came late in the game, when Blount delivered the final, crushing blow to the Texans with a 41-yard scamper to the end zone.
Blount ran tough, stretched for extra yards and displayed his ability to wear down a defense. Blount helped the offense wear out the Texans, leaving defenders gassed.
Blount was key to the Patriots' game plan with Brissett under center, and he came through once again.
Grade: A+
Wide Receiver
3 of 10
On paper, the stats don't look very great for the wide receivers. But stats are far everything in the grading process.
Edelman was his traditional squirrelly, feisty self, making a few good catches and powering for extra yardage. Edelman was also a presence on the ground and in a few option sets with motions and options for pitches. We all might have wished to see Edelman play a little quarterback, but he is the Patriots' No. 1 receiver, and it showed again.
Danny Amendola also played well, but let's give some attention to rookie Malcolm Mitchell. Mitchell only caught one pass for 27 yards, but he evaded the tackle and got off to the races and protected the football. Mitchell is technical, shakes coverage and finishes plays with very good hands. He's going to be a joy to watch.
It's tough to knock these receivers versus the Texans, as they all did their jobs and were even a presence in the run game when Edelman pancaked a defensive back on Blount's big run.
Grade: A-
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Tight End
4 of 10
Rob Gronkowski returned to play in his first game of the year but did absolutely nothing. Gronk had one target in the red zone on a lousy play-call with a weak fade. Still, Gronk was just getting eased back into game action. Give him some time to get back up to full game speed and conditioning.
Martellus Bennett looked really strong in run blocking and added two catches for 10 yards.
While a grade for their play would probably come in at around a C, that doesn't really tell the story.
The Patriots didn't have to use Gronk once again in a game in which they didn't have Brady or Garoppolo. The Patriots were able to rest their best offensive weapon and give him some minimal action.
For that reason, the Patriots grade out well at tight end.
Grade: A
Offensive Line
5 of 10
The goal of the game was to not allow the Texans' potent pass rush led by J.J. Watt to get to Brissett. Keep the quarterback protected and cool, and maybe the Patriots could win this game.
The offensive line allowed one sack, which was the lone QB hit on Brissett. Watt was totally shut down, and the Patriots kept penalties to a minimum (Joe Thuney picked up a false start).
Brissett was able to stay calm and collected thanks to a stellar performance across the board from the pass protection.
The Pats' run blocking was also quite good, as Blount had some lanes and the offensive line was able to wear down the Texans defensive front.
Dante Scarnecchia is doing wonders with a makeshift offensive line that has dealt with some injuries to start the season. This game will go a long way toward building confidence in the trenches.
Grade: A+
Defensive Line
6 of 10
Welcome back, Jabaal Sheard.
While Sheard has been an on-field presence this season, he is finally fully healthy and made a statement versus the Texans. Sheard was explosive on the edges and lit up offensive tackles with slick footwork, active hands and bursts of pure speed off the snap to slip around the edges.
Sheard finished the game with two sacks, two QB hits and was a consistent source of pressure on Osweiler.
Malcom Brown, Alan Branch and the defensive front also established a strong presence against Lamar Miller and the Texans run game early on, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Grade: A
Linebacker
7 of 10
The Patriots were without Dont'a Hightower, who is still nursing a knee injury. But who cares?
The Patriots made it look like missing one of the NFL's best linebackers wasn't a problem at all.
Jamie Collins lit up the Texans with tackling, pass rushing, coverage and just about every aspect of his game. Collins finished with 14 tackles, eight solo tackles, one pass breakup and one of the cleanest interceptions you will see this season.
Collins read the eyes of Osweiler perfectly as he dropped into a hybrid safety position in the defensive zones and slid over to make the easy interception.
Collins' performance alone gives the linebackers a perfect score, though Jonathan Freeny pitched in seven tackles, which was good for second on the team.
Grade: A+
Secondary
8 of 10
Give a round of applause to Logan Ryan.
The forever-underrated No. 2 cornerback shut down one of the league's best wide receivers, DeAndre Hopkins, for the second consecutive year. Ryan allowed four receptions for 56 yards to Hopkins (one of those coming in garbage time). That's a dominant showing.
In addition to Ryan, Malcolm Butler looked like the No. 1 cornerback that he is with his ability to shut down rookie speedster Will Fuller. Butler also nearly intercepted a pass by jumping a route late in the game that looked very similar to his famous Super Bowl-winning pick. Butler was also a dominant presence in the run game and wrapped up some big tackles on the outside of the field.
Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty and the safeties also pitched in with a great all-around showing. They needed a giant rebound game after the debacle against the Dolphins in the second half of Week 2.
Grade: A+
Special Teams
9 of 10
CSNNE's Tom E. Curran nailed it when he said that punter Nate Allen would be the player of the game. While Allen might not be the typical choice for a game MVP, he was absolutely perfect. He pinned the Texans deep in their zone on every single punt.
Stephen Gostkowski shook off his rust by sinking two field goals.
But most importantly, the Patriots were perfect on kick coverage. With a rookie QB, they needed to set him up for success. By forcing two fumbles on kickoffs, the Patriots turned turnovers into points, and the rest was history.
Belichick helped his team follow up a shaky special teams performance against the Dolphins with an absolute gem in the win over the Texans. A top grade doesn't even do this unit justice.
Grade: A+
Coaching
10 of 10
Bill Belichick was 5-0 in his career when having a QB make his first start. Now he's 6-0.
Going into this game, especially given that it was a short week with a Thursday night game, you had to be crazy to think the Patriots could win in dominant fashion with a rookie quarterback. Belichick has once again done the unthinkable.
He is the best coach in the NFL and arguably the greatest of all time. Thursday night was another resume-builder for the future Hall of Famer. The defense was exceptional. The offense was smart and poised. Special teams was flawless.
Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia also did their jobs as the respective offensive and defensive coordinators this week, and it showed in one of the most dominant victories in recent memory, especially given the scenario with a third-string QB.
Grade: A+
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