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 The Patriots' defensive front bludgeoned Texans quarterback Brian
Hoyer throughout and helped New England clinch a seventh consecutive
playoff berth with a 27-6 victory over the Houston Texans at NRG
Stadium.
Gronkowski set up the first touchdown in the first quarter and
recorded the second late in the second quarter to provide the
Patriots (11-2) with what proved to be an insurmountable 11-point
lead at the break.
The cushion was comfortable thanks to the New England defense, which
harassed Hoyer relentlessly as the Patriots snapped a brief two-game
skid.
"These guys did a good job, they really did," Patriots coach Bill
Belichick said of his defense. "We played a lot of different people
as we've been doing on the front.
"Our linebackers did their job, they did coverage. We gave up three
big plays, but on a down-in, down-out basis, I thought we competed
well, tackled pretty well and we were able to get off the field on
third down."
The Patriots regained possession of the top seed in the AFC
standings after the Cincinnati Bengals (10-3) and Denver Broncos
(10-3) lost earlier Sunday.
The Texans (6-7) amassed 17 yards on 17 plays in the third quarter,
with Patriots ends Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard recording sacks
of Hoyer that totaled 31 yards.
After the Patriots produced just a 49-yard Stephen Gostkowski field
goal in the third quarter, New England stretched their lead to three
touchdowns early in the fourth following yet another sack of Hoyer.
With the Texans pinned deep in their own territory, Sheard dropped
Hoyer and forced a fumble that defensive tackle Malcom Brown
recovered at the Texans 7. Three plays later, running back James
White scored on a 2-yard run for a 27-6 lead with 12:04 left in the
game.
"Couldn't move the ball on offense at all," Texans coach Bill
O'Brien said. "Thought the defense did some good things, but not
enough, and special teams, we didn't play very well."
The Patriots sacked Hoyer five times before knocking him out of the
game midway through the fourth quarter. The Texans produced just 189
total yards and seven first downs, and they breached the red zone
once.
Gronkowski finished with four receptions for 87 yards. Brady, sacked
three times, completed 22 of 30 passes for 226 yards and a pair of
touchdowns passes. He was elated to have Gronkowski back in the
fold.
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"Offensive football is always trust and anticipation, and there's
nobody that I trust more than Gronk," Brady said. "He's a great
player, a great teammate.
"Blocking, pass protection, obviously the pass game -- short,
intermediate, deep. Takes advantage of a good matchup. A great
player."
Back after missing last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with
a right knee injury he sustained the previous week in a loss at
Denver, Gronkowski made his presence felt early.
On the first snap of the Patriots' second possession, Gronkowski
corralled a 45-yard pass from Brady, taking advantage of fallen
Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus to provide New England a first
down inside the Texans' 10-yard line.
Three plays later, Brady found wide receiver Keshawn Martin for a
2-yard touchdown pass and 7-0 lead.
The Patriots took advantage of exceptional field position as the
half closed, covering just 41 yards in eight plays to extend their
lead to 17-6 with 14 seconds remaining in the half.
Brady converted two third downs with passes to Martin and wide
receiver Brandon LaFell, and Gronkowski capped the march with a
1-yard jump ball over Texans safety Quintin Demps.
For the Texans, the blow of their second consecutive loss was
lessened by the Colts' loss at Jacksonville earlier Sunday. Next
week Houston visits Indianapolis (6-7) with first place in the AFC
South up for grabs.
"We control what we can control," Texans defensive end J.J. Watt
said. "Now we need to work on controlling next Sunday. We've got to
go back to work and try to control next Sunday."
(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
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