If you were feeling good about the Jimmy Garoppolo era (and you should have for about six quarters), you’re probably a lot less excited about the Jacoby Brissett regime the New England Patriots will unveil tonight when they host the Houston Texans in a Thursday night football extravaganza. As always, I have your TNF primer here and ready to go.
The game: Houston at New England (-1)
The History
This will just be the eighth meeting all-time between the Patriots (2-0) and the Texans (2-0). New England leads the series 6-1.
The only Texans win so far came on Jan. 3, 2010 in a meaningless game for the Pats who had already sewn up the AFC East and couldn’t change their playoff position with a win. Houston won 34-27 thanks to a couple of Arian Foster touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Fun fact: In that one Texans win in 2010, Brian Hoyer played all the second half for the Patriots. He would eventually end up with Houston five seasons later and after a playoff meltdown, is now with the Chicago Bears. He’ll probably start Sunday.
Texans head coach Bill O’Brien was the Patriots’ offensive coordinator in 2011. From 2007-2010 he held multiple coaching positions with New England, including two seasons as quarterbacks’ coach.
The Texans on Offense
It’s been money well spent for the Texans so far with new quarterback Brock Osweiler and running back Lamar Miller. While Osweiler and Miller haven’t set fire to the stat sheet, the Texans can move the ball consistently and Osweiler continues to show up in the clutch. DeAndre Hopkins is probably one of the four or five best wideouts in the NFL right now and the Will Fuller pick is already paying off.
The Patriots on Offense
This is the question mark since we still don’t know, as of this writing, if All-Universe tight end Rob Gronkowski will suit up tonight. He’s still “questionable,” but if I’m the Texans I’m preparing for him anyway, however that may be. Even without Gronk, Martellus Bennett is a solid stand-in and Chris Hogan was a smart addition to New England’s shockingly Caucasian wideout corps. He adds a big-play capability that Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman just don’t have. The only question is can Brissett get any of them the ball.
The Texans on Defense
J.J. Watt is finally healthy enough to play and Jadeveon Clowney has decided to finally show up. That should be all you need to know. While the team should be without inside linebacker and living embodiment of roid rage Brian Cushing for the next six weeks, they’re loaded at linebacker. Whitney Mercilus is probably the best defensive player in the NFL nobody talks about. Houston has a solid, veteran defensive backfield too, led by 11-year man Johnathan Joseph at corner. With Brissett as QB for the Pats, they might get a little bored before the game is over.
The Patriots on Defense
This is an underrated unit that Belichick has bolstered with some smart free agent signings like former Ram Chris Long and some key trades that acquired Barkevious Mingo from the Browns. Jason Collins is a star at linebacker and New England has built its own Legion of Boom from the ground up with Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung and Devin McCourty as the standouts. The lone weakness is the other cornerback spot currently held down by Logan Ryan, but the Pats have worked the trade phone and free agency to improve it.
The Coaches
Listen, I’m not a big believer in the Bill Belichick Super Geeenius narrative. There’s a hell of a lot of cheating and skeevy stuff behind the scenes of New England’s past success to put a damper on that, but he is an excellent coach. He might be the best, which makes the advantage his team’s consistent rule-breaking gives them that more egregious. As for O’Brien, he’s put together the best team he’s had in Houston so this year will tell the tale. But there’s no question, by hook or by crook, the Pats have the coaching advantage.
The Pick: It’s going to be another classic Osweiler vs Brissett quarterback duel. I like Houston, especially on the short week. Texans 24, Pats 13
