We’re going to the playoffs! After a two-game slide the Pats got back on track against the Texans, led by a suffocating defense that made plays with the pass rush and in coverage.
Houston converted just three of 14 third downs and had a total of 189 yards, 126 of which came on three plays. It was as good as this defense has played all season.
On offense, they made the plays they had to, but against a good defense they still looked out of sync at times. The biggest difference was having Gronk back. We all know he’s a game changer and that was once again proven against the Texans.
Now it’s back to home for a (hopefully) easy one against the Titans. Here are the Posits from the game:
– It’s time to give Logan Ryan
his due. A lot of us thought Butler would draw Hopkins in coverage, but it was Ryan and aside from one big catch, Ryan erased Hopkins. Ryan was so inconsistent last season and into the preseason this year, but he’s gotten better each week and has developed a calm savvy to his game.
– Malcolm Butler has been just as good. He and Ryan aren’t getting a ton of interceptions but they’re competitive on every ball thrown in their direction. Now we see Leonard Johnson step right into the slot and do a terrific job, breaking up two passes. Johnson is thicker than Coleman and clearly more experienced. If he can keep it up he might be an important addition for the stretch run.
– No one is harder on Brandon Bolden
than me, but with Blount going down with a hip injury, it was up to Bolden to be the early down back. This was the best game I’ve seen Bolden play as a running back (16 carries, 51 yards). He’s a fantastic special teams player but has lacked the ability to break tackles and make plays. Against the Texans he ran hard. Hopefully Blount isn’t out long, but credit to Bolden for stepping up and playing well.
– Not sure when Freeny got hurt, but Mayo was playing and had his best game of the season. Really looked like he was getting some of his “pop” back. He’s one to focus on in film review this week.
– Just as Keshawn Martin
was starting to click with Brady he muffs a punt and opens the door to a potential Texans comeback (that failed when the defense got a fourth-down stop. Martin needs to shrug this one off, he’s taken real strides in the offense and looked a lot more comfortable this week. The better he fills the Edelman role the more they can hold back on Amendola (by keeping him as the “slot” receiver), and who knows, with Amendola’s contract Martin could end up replacing him.
– Jabaal Sheard has been a beast coming back off his ankle injury that kept him sidelined far longer than we expected. The combination of him, Ninkovich and Jones finally give us a deep rotation of impressive passive rushers who can all set the edge as well.
– It seems like Easley dodged a bullett after going down grabbing his knee. He was riding the bike on the sideline and was seen laughing on the broadcast.
– The big injuries to monitor are LeGarrette Blount (hip) and Devin McCourty (ankle). Both looked fairly innocuous, but neither returned from the locker room. The at least have depth at safety to manage without McCourty, but going down to just Bolden and White would hurt.
– Injuries – Blount (hip), McCourty (ankle), Freeny (hand), Easley (knee)
– Nice to see the offense go 3-for-3 in the red zone but six punts and three three-and-outs made things look sluggish. They look nothing like the score-at-will team of September, but I still don’t think we’ve seen this offense’s capabilities post-Lewis. Hopefully we catch a glimpse of it against a floundering Titans team this weekend.
– All things considered I thought the offensive line was better than they’ve been, and that’s a good sign with two rookie guards playing the whole game. We knew they’d employ Michael Williams to help on Watt and they did a good job minimizing Watt’s impact.
Things have shifted quickly in the AFC with the Andy Dalton injury. Now it looks like Pittsburgh might be the biggest threat to the Pats’ AFC title hopes. At the least they’re the closest thing out there to healthy.
Broncos at Steelers will be big this weekend. With three games to go the Steelers are two behind the Bengals. The Bengals have a two-game western swing, first at San Fran then at Denver. The door is still very open on the Steelers getting the second seed.
The Pats game against the Jets in two weeks is shaping up to be a big one, but first the Titans!