The Football Gods giveth, and boy can they taketh away. I was almost bored watching Garoppolo decimate the Dolphins defense and play like a seasoned veteran. That’ll teach me to take great QB play for granted (again). Jacoby Brissett was a player I was excited to see play in the preseason because I liked his skill set and his build. I was hoping he might get a little more prep before his first game action, but the NFL is a fickle beast.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Texans aka “The Only Team that Doesn’t Get their Own Color Rush Uniform”
Week 3: vs. Houston Texans (Tickets)
Thursday, September 22,
8:25pm EST, NFL Network
Gillette Stadium, Clear, 60s.
Opponent/Patriots Stats:
Texans: 2-0
Notable Games: Defeated Bears 23-14 and Chiefs 19-12
Common Opponents: None yet.
Recent games vs. Pats: 2015 – Patriots 27-6. 2013 – Patriots 34-31.
[table id=16Texans /]
Notable Players
BROCK OSWEILER QB: 41/68 completions (60.3%), 499 yds, 3 TDs, 3 INTs,
LAMAR MILLER RB: 53 carries, 189 yds (3.6 avg), 0 TDs, 1 fumble
DEANDRE HOPKINS WR: 12 rec, 167 yds (13.9 avg), 2 TDs
JJ WATT DE: 6 tackles, 1.5 sacks, MANY disruptive plays
Injury Alerts
Patriots:
Jimmy Garoppolo has an injured AC Joint from the Miami game and reports have filtered out that it is very unlikely he will play. There is some positivity that he could return for the Week 4 game versus the Buffalo Bills. However, that would be a best case scenario. Giddy-up Jacoby Brissett
Dont’a Hightower didn’t play vs. Miami last week with a knee injury. Now, the dude is tough, he has played through many injuries, a torn labrum among them. The team decided to give him the game off last week so it looks like it is about managing his health at this points.
Rob Gronkowski still hasn’t played a regular season snap in 2016. The Patriots are notorious for their mystery behind player injuries so the severity is relatively unknown with Gronk’s injury. There have been reports of him pulling a hammy in training camp, but who’s to say that is exactly what happened. I wouldn’t expect to see Gronk on Thursday night.
Eric Rowe is off his crutches but would not have participated in a practice on Monday according the injury report. He doesn’t look like likely to play on a short week
Nate Solder was starting against Miami but he left, it appeared more as a precautionary rotation as opposed to him having aggravated the injury.
Texans:
Brian Cushing won’t be playing after a torn MCL from Week 1, as reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He’s scheduled to be out 6 weeks from that injury.
Duane Brown an OT for the Texans hasn’t played a snap yet this season and the injury report from Monday which had him listed as “did not practice,” does not make for a good chance that he’ll play.
Braxton Miller, the former college QB and current rookie WR left the game against Kansas City with a hamstring injury and did not return. He was listed as limited on the injury report so there is a chance he could join the dynamic duo of Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins against NE.
Key Matchups: (Use Football Outsiders Coverage vs. WR type rankings)
Texans:
-vs. WR1: 13th —–Matchup: Julian Edelman vs. Jonathan Joseph
-vs. WR2: 4th—–Matchup: Chris Hogan vs Kareem Jackson
-vs. TE: 5th—–Matchup: Martellus Bennett vs. Andre Hall
-vs. RB: 12th—–Matchup: James White vs. Benardrick McKinney
Patriots:
-vs. WR1: 14th in NFL in 2015—-Matchup: Malcolm Butler vs. DeAndre Hopkins
-vs. WR2: 20th in NFL in 2015—-Matchup: Logan Ryan vs. Will Fuller
-vs. WR3: 16th in NFL in 2015—-Matchup: Justin Coleman vs. Jaelen Strong
vs. RB: 21st in NFL in 2015—-Matchup: Jamie Collins vs. Lamar Miller
What’s at stake?
The Patriots are at 2-0 and at the top of the AFC East with a division win already under their belts. Many viewed a 2 win start while Brady was out as success, but surely that was before we saw Garoppolo play like a worthy starting QB in the league. The division won’t be won or lost in Week 3 for the Patriots but every early win puts them one step closer to a first round playoff bye.
Early thoughts:
The Houston Texans were the talk of the town this offseason with the addition of former Bronco QB Brock Osweiler, while the east coast couldn’t stop talking about how fellow young QB JFG would fare. Now it looks like a YOUNGER and even LESS EXPERIENCED play caller will be under center for New England. A game where everyone leaves healthy would be a win in my book here. While I like Jacoby Brissett, he had zero snaps with starters since camp started. I think it is optimistic to think he will do anything other than play it safe with high percentage completion throws and low risk trickeration by McDaniels and BB. The Texans pass rush will be ferocious and attack the young QB. A lot is riding on the shoulders of Blount and the OL. If the running game can be effective even with the Texans stacking the box, the game will be within reach.
