This night belonged to Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans. Now for the second time, the New England Patriots have been beaten handily by an AFC foe that is a division leader. Equally important, both defeats have some on Sunday Night Football.
The Texans led handily at 21-9 when they decided to pull off this play that should have plenty talking. This Globetrotter-like play from DeAndre Hopkins to Watson for a score that made it 28-9.
THE TRICKERY!@deshaunwatson | #NEvsHOU pic.twitter.com/POBDFCMZXu
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 2, 2019
Altogether, Watson had four touchdowns on the night including three through the air. He did not turn the ball over.
By comparison, Tom Brady had a tough night on the other side of the ball. Remember when Brady expressed frustration with the Patriots offense a few weeks back? On Sunday night, Brady again posted pedestrian numbers which included a very low completion percentage and an interception. In addition, a lot of Brady’s numbers came in junk time.
Suddenly, the Ravens have moved into the number one seed in the AFC. Furthermore, the Texans have exploited the blueprint of how to beat the Patriots; which is exposing Brady to pressure from the pass rush.
While the Texans move to 8-4 on the season, this probably marks the biggest win of head coach Bill O’Brien’s tenure in Houston. Equally important, he finally beats his former boss Bill Belichick in a head to head match-up.
The take home message is that the Patriots have definitely shown themselves to be at the very least vulnerable, rather than peaking as they head into their usual time of year to shine. Certainly it’s possible the Patriots rally the troops just in time for a magical run back to the Super Bowl. But the AFC has a few teams who have at least stood up and shown they are formidable obstacles standing in the way.
