Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots
While it wasn’t surprising to see more of the same Patriots’ sputtering offense in the first half of this game, it was a bit surprising to see the Texans’ offense lay it on the Patriots’ defense. Houston never really looked like they were going to lose this game, and New England never really looked like they could win it. While the Pats were able to close the final score to 28-22, it never really looked or felt that close. Deshaun Watson led 4 TD drives and knocked the Patriots to 10-2 on the season. While the Texans struggled to run the ball, Watson threw for 3 TDs, and even caught his first career TD reception – an option-type pitch from DeAndre Hopkins. Let’s dive in.
Houston Texans
Quarterbacks
- Deshaun Watson: 18/25, 234 yards, 3 TDs | 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards, TD
Deshaun Watson had a huge night for the Texans, both beating Tom Brady and the Patriots for the first time in his career – and finishing with 3 TD passes, a receiving TD, and no turnovers. Houston relied on Watson’s arm to sustain drives as they finished with only 52 rushing yards on the night. Watson flashed his patented ability to move around in the pocket and buy time for his receivers to get open. Watson caught his first career reception (and TD reception) on a toss from DeAndre Hopkins. Watson handed off to Duke Johnson who pitched to Hopkins on a reverse, then Hopkins flipped the ball to Watson who ran it 6 yards and dove into the end zone. The Patriots’ defense had few answers for Watson and the game truly was not as close as the final score indicated. There may be some uneasy feelings starting Watson against the Broncos to start off the fantasy playoffs, but after just shredding New England’s defense, Watson owners will likely feel confident in him moving forward.
Running Backs
- Carlos Hyde: 10 carries, 17 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 5 yards
- Duke Johnson, Jr: 9 carries, 36 yards | 6 targets, 5 receptions, 54 yards, 1 TD
Much like the Patriots had more success with their pass-catching back in James White, the Texans’ Duke Johnson also had more success both on the ground and through the air. With Carlos Hyde struggling to get anything going, Johnson finished with more yardage on fewer carries and a receiving TD, while Hyde was only able to manage a lackluster 1.7 yards per carry. It was a game where New England decided to make Deshaun Watson beat them with his arm, and that’s exactly what Watson did. The Texans only attempted 8 rushes in the 2nd half, even as they had the lead and were wanting to run out the clock. The timeshare between these two has been leaning towards Hyde for most of the season, but it seems the Texans chose to ride the hot hand against the Patriots. Both of Houston’s backs will have a tough time bouncing back against a tough Broncos run defense in the first week of the fantasy playoffs.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- DeAndre Hopkins: 8 targets, 5 receptions, 64 yards
- Will Fuller V: 2 targets, 1 reception, 8 yards
- Darren Fells: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 23 yards, 1 TD
- Kenny Stills: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 61 yards, 1 TD
It was a busy night for Houston’s pass catchers against a talented New England secondary, but the Texans were able to win the battle and the game. With the Texans’ run game sputtering, the receiving corps was able to move the chains and lead Houston to a victory. DeAndre Hopkins had a modest night from a fantasy production standpoint, although a passing TD to QB Deshaun Watson helped his cause. He was shadowed for most of the night by Patriots’ all-pro corner Stephon Gilmore, yet he was still able to have some success. In the 3rd quarter, Will Fuller appeared to catch a TD pass but the ruling was overturned after the review showed that Fuller had bobbled the ball. On the very next play from scrimmage, Watson threw a TD pass to Kenny Stills instead, putting the Texans up 21-3. The TD pass from Hopkins to Watson would put the Texans up 28-9, effectively acting as the winning score. The Texans’ offense only ran 52 offensive plays and lost the Time of Possession battle by nearly ten minutes, but were still able to score against the Patriots’ defense early and often. Hopkins and the rest of the Texans’ receivers will have a tough matchup against Denver in the first round of your fantasy playoffs next week, but having seen them have success against a tough Patriots’ defense has to instill some confidence going forward.
New England Patriots
Quarterbacks
- Tom Brady: 24/47, 326 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT | 1 carry, 13 yards
The Patriots’ offensive struggles continued in the first half – Tom Brady was just 7/19 for 82 yards and an interception in the first half. He seemed destined for another dud of a fantasy performance but came to life in the second half. And while the Patriots ultimately fell to the Texans, Brady finished with a solid performance. Brady found himself susceptible to pressure in the first half while his receivers struggled to get open. Houston clearly made it a priority to shut down WR Julian Edelman in their defensive gameplan. Edelman was consistently doubled with a safety on his side of the field, and the rest of New England’s pass-catchers had trouble finding soft spots in the Texan’s secondary. After being held to only a field goal in the first half, Brady finished with 3 TD passes on New England’s final three possessions. The first two of Brady’s TDs went to RB James White, and the 3rd went to Edelman – This was Brady’s first 3 TD game since Week 5 against the Redskins. While Brady’s stats came mostly in garbage time, it has to be encouraging to see him putting up starter-caliber numbers with the fantasy playoffs right around the corner.
Running Backs
- Sony Michel: 10 carries, 45 yards
- James White: 14 carries, 79 yards | 11 targets, 8 receptions, 98 yards, 2 TDs
- Rex Burkhead: 3 carries, 15 yards
For the first time this season, New England stuck with James White as their primary back for the vast majority of the game – and it really paid off for White’s owners. Sony Michel averaged a respectable 4.5 yards per carry, but White had what was easily his most productive outing of the season. White’s 22 total touches were 10 more than his previous high this season (@ Washington, @ NYJ), and he doubled up on his receiving TD total for the season as well. It was a far cry from White’s less-than-stellar performance last week against the Cowboys (3 total touches, -1 total yards) and hopefully, his owners trusted him enough to stick him in their lineups this week. I certainly did not. Michel had only 2 carries in the second half before New England stuck with White for the rest of the game. White may be getting hot at the right time just before the fantasy playoffs begin – facing two soft rushing defenses in Kansas City and Cincinnati over the next two weeks.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
- Julian Edelman: 12 targets, 6 receptions, 106 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, -7 yards
- Mohamed Sanu Sr: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 14 yards
- Jakobi Meyers: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 46 yards
It was clear that Houston’s gameplan involved shutting down Julian Edelman, and it worked in the first half. But in the second half, mostly in garbage time, Edelman was able to salvage a strong fantasy performance going over 100 yards with a TD against the Texans’ secondary. While Edelman was able to bust free for some big gains in the second half, he was mostly neutralized in the first half – finishing with only 1 catch for 12 yards. Edelman found more open space to work with in the second half as the Texans started to pull away, and was able to find the end zone in the fourth quarter. Mohamed Sanu Sr. and Jakobi Meyers drew the ire of Tom Brady in the first half as they consistently struggled to get open against Houston’s secondary. Of the Patriots’ receiving group, it appears that Edelman is still the WR to trust moving forward towards the playoffs. Both Kansas City and Cincinnati have been solid at defending receivers this season, with the former being slightly tougher lately.
— Corey Saucier