Stopwatch: Tom Brady gets back on track with quick release vs. Texans

It’s been well over a decade since the Patriots have had such a skid, but the Texans are in prime position to make that losing streak happen.

Some things to know about the Patriots’ win over the Texans.

The Patriots received a boost from the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski, who bruised a bone and sprained his right knee against Denver.

If the Houston Texans are ever going to capitalize this on this season and make a statement, now is the time. New England hasn’t lost three straight games since 2002. It’s a great achievement for our team.

Although Rob Gronkowski has traveled with the Patriots to Houston, he still remains questionable and would likely only play a handful of snaps if active.

Three plays later, Brady found wide receiver Keshawn Martin for a 2-yard touchdown pass and 7-0 lead. “The defense the last four or five weeks has-been incredible”, Brady stated.

Clowney was drafted by the Houston Texans as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Against the Texans he was 13-for-16 when taking less than two seconds and over his last four games, he is 53-for-70 (76 percent) when taking less than two seconds. Branch and White were both unaware the Patriots had clinched the division until Belichick told them Tuesday. J.J. Watt got the majority of the attention, even with a club on his hand.

New England’s offensive line did a solid job of keeping quarterback Tom Brady from absorbing too many hits, but rookie guard Tre’ Jackson struggled, picking up a pair of holding penalties.

Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi once coined the phrase “hat-and-t-shirt” game when the team was playing for some type of championship – division, conference, Super Bowl. Either Blue is still bothered by his injury he had a couple of weeks ago, or the Texans are unhappy with his play because Blue did not get a carry Sunday night. But the Texans couldn’t move the ball and turned it over after a failed fourth-down attempt.

“If we need to raise money, we should raise money and get those set so that on those kinds of plays, we have an absolute down-the-line angle of the play and not, I would say, the angles that I saw shown up on the screen, which none of them were down the line”, Belichick said.

The Patriots went into Sunday night’s matchup having already received big help from unlikely places, namely from Pittsburgh in their win over Cincinnati and Oakland in their win over Denver. For Martin, it was his second touchdown this season and third in his career…. Houston dropped a game to the Bills in Week 13. Not only has Hoyer been able to capitalize on Houston’s opportunities in the red zone, but he’s protected the ball well while there as well, not throwing a single interception in the red zone all season. Marcus Mariota and crew come to town next week, where the Patriots can hopefully continue their winning ways. Fortunately for New England, Houston failed to convert that takeaway into points. Still, Gronkowski’s presence back on the field changed the complexion of the game on Sunday and the team’s outlook moving forward.