New England Patriots smash Texans, prove they’re AFC’s best

Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer (7) walks off the field after an incomplete pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, in Houston.

Brian Hoyer also came out after a tough sack in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. New England was coming off their second straight loss, this one at the hands of the Eagles.

Tom Brady has had a lot of success with Dick LeBeau defenses in the past.

“I’m doing everything I can to get better every single day and it feels good to be back with my teammates – just mentally and physically to be back with them out on the practice field”, shared Gronkowski prior to the Houston Texans game, according to ESPN.

The Patriots clinched the AFC East without moving a muscle when the Dolphins lost to the Giants on Monday Night Football. They dodge the really sharp pieces spinning their way. The Texans would get a 37-yard Nick Novak field goal for a four-point Pats edge at the end of one.

“There was urgency and there wasn’t urgency”, Gronkowski said after his four-catch, 87-yard performance on Sunday.

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.

The Texans (6-7) recovered a fumble and forced two punts by the Patriots in the third quarter, but weren’t able to take advantage of any of those opportunities and entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-6. It was initially ruled a completed pass, but Texans coach Bill O’Brien challenged the play and it was eventually overturned.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the key players and stats from this game so we can figure out why things happened the way they did.

Injuries were a killer for the Patriots yesterday, despite the win. Hoyer was 11 of 22 for 155 yards.

Leading rusher Jonathan Stewart – who ran for a touchdown as the Panthers scored on their first three possessions – left the game with a possible sprained foot, and Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen hurt a knee. The organization, myself, (we) just rehabbed really hard. “It’s something we need to change”. The Texans are left, still, in a first-place tie in the AFC South – that division will likely be determined next Sunday when the Texans play the Colts – but the reality is that whoever emerges from that game could merely be set up to be playoff cannon fodder for the Patriots in a few more weeks. Another relentless Patriots march through January in frigid Foxborough, another realization that the best team in the AFC is the same as it ever was.

So if Newton is the regular-season MVP, Brady remains the regular-season-and-beyond MDP – most risky player – and Sunday night represented just another small reminder why. The star defensive end wore a cast that enclosed his fingers in a club-like ball.