Belichick: sideline, end zone cameras are worth the money

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) and Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) speak after the game at NRG Stadium.

Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots snapped a two-game skid and clinched a playoff spot with a 27-6 win over the Houston Texans. While the first part of that may be true, the second part was not. The Patriots seemed perfectly fine punting it away and playing field position once they had a lead, rather than taking a risk and have Brady ending up on his backside and then punting it away anyway. “We want all the players out there”. “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”. So while the AFC playoff order was reshaped around them on Sunday – the Cincinnati Bengals suffered a particularly brutal blow with a loss and a fracture in Andy Dalton’s throwing hand, and Denver couldn’t overcome its suddenly somnolent offense – the Patriots beat the Houston Texans, 27-6, with scorching play from their defensive front to right the order of their universe. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The display led some to think that maybe the whole thing was a ruse, a smokescreen to get inside Texans head coach Bill O’Brien’s head about the availability of the game-changing Gronkowski ahead of the Sunday night showdown.

“Those guys did a good job; they really did”, he said.

Hoyer was forced to exit the game in the fourth quarter.

While the Texans offense struggled, their defense tried their best to keep them in the game. Gronkowski, his favorite target, finished with four grabs for 87 yards and the TD.

Blount is the team’s leading rusher with 703 yards and six touchdowns on 165 carries.

Four days after that defeat, Gronkowski was back, high-fiving his coach in a surprise appearance at practice. Still, besides for a Whitney Mercilus sweet spin move for a sack, the pass-rush was ineffective much of the game. A touchdown pass was negated by an illegal formation penalty when wide receiver Keshawn Martin covered up eligible tackle Cameron Fleming, but two plays later Martin made a great move in the end zone to get free for a touchdown reception. It’s the blocking presence he offers both in pass protection and the running game. Takes advantage of a good matchup.

It’s not a stretch to make a connection to the fact that after the pass catcher was carted off with a right knee injury in Denver, the Patriots fell to the Broncos in overtime and lost to the Eagles with Gronkowski sidelined.

Monday night’s loss by the Dolphins locked up the Patriots’ 7th straight AFC East Division title, tying them with the Rams for the most consecutive Division crowns (1973-1979) and further establishing what is a remarkable era of football in New England. The tight end has 931 yards receiving with nine touchdowns this season.

The Texans’ pass defense is already one of the best in the National Football League this season, giving up the third-fewest passing yards a game at 218.3 yards per contest.

With the loss on Sunday night, the Texans drop to 6-7. The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 51-16, so the Texans and Colts remain tied at the top of the AFC South.