The Houston Texans earn their first ever win in Gillette Stadium as they lasso the New England Patriots 41-21 to move to 5-1 for the second time in franchise history on Sunday in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

After a 40-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Kayshon Boutte, New England trailed Houston 14-7 entering halftime. On the Patriots 2^nd play from following the half, Danielle Hunter would force a sack fumble on Maye and put the Texans in prime scoring position.

Proceeding the turnover, C.J. Stroud would complete a 15-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs to put Houston up by two scores.

The Texans defense would get off the quickly on back-to-back possessions forcing a 3-and-out and a fumble. Houston’s offense then rewarded their defense by scoring field goals on two consecutive drives to go up 27-7.

Following the Texans’ score, Drake Maye would give the Patriots life by leading the offense on a 7-play 70-yard drive capped off by a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry to close the deficit to 27-14.

With the chance to make it a one score game, the New England offense would turn the ball over yet again, this time following a Will Anderson Jr. deflection being intercepted by Eric Murray.

Houston’s offense quickly responded to takeaway as Joe Mixon rushed for a 20-yard score to extend the Texans’ lead to 34-14.

Both offenses then traded touchdowns, but Houston held on to win their 3^rd consecutive game and continue their steady control over the AFC South.

In this win, the Houston Texans were led by their star QB C.J. Stroud. Stroud recorded 192 passing yards on 20/31 attempts for 3 TDs and an interception.

With the league leader in receiving yards, Nico Collins, out there were questions about how their passing offense would look without him, but Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell stepped up during his absence.

Diggs and Dell combined for 13 receptions for 134 yards and 2 TDs.

Houston’s rushing offense was also hitting on all cylinders, as running backs Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce totaled for 178 yards and 2 TDs. They both averaged over 7 yards per carry.

On defense, Will Anderson Jr. was their anchor, as he compiled 3 sacks, 8 total tackles, and a pass deflection that resulted in an interception.

Neville Hewitt and Mario Edwards Jr. combined for 17 total tackles, a pass deflection, and a QB hit.

Jalen Pitre added 6 total tackles, 1 TFL, and a pass deflection.

With this win, Houston maintains their one game lead over the Baltimore Ravens for the 2^nd spot in the tough AFC conference.

The Patriots were led by their rookie QB, Drake Maye, who recorded 243 yards on 20/33 passing attempts with 3 TDs and 2 interceptions. He also scrambled for 38 yards on 5 carries.

DeMario Douglas added 6 receptions for 92 yards and scored his 1^st career touchdown on 35-yard reception.

Kayshon Boutte and Hunter Henry combined for 6 receptions for 100 yards and 2 TDs.

On the defensive side, Marcus Jones gathered 3 total tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception returned for 35 yards.

Davon Godchaux compiled 8 total tackles and Marte Mapu completed 5 total tackles with a pass deflection that led to an interception.

Turnovers, Penalties, and Potential

New England’s issues with penalties and turnovers were on display during their 21-point loss to the Houston Texans. They turned the ball over 4 times and were penalized 9 times for 50 yards.

As shown throughout the season thus far, the Patriots will continue to drop games if these issues persist.

“The penalties in the 1^st half, just too many,” said Jerod Mayo. “It’s the same story over and over again. Four turnovers in the game. Can’t win if you lose that battle.”

The Patriots pass protection has also been a concern for this offense, as establishing a clean pocket has been a complication. Against the Houston, New England’s offense line allowed 4 sacks and 8 QB hits.

“At first there were some good pockets to start with up front,” said Jerod Mayo. “I thought the offensive line, at times, definitely had some good pockets to allow the quarterback to make those throws, but it’s a team wide sport and we don’t feel good about anything right now”.

New England’s offensive line continues to be plagued with injuries, as Vederian Lowe and Michael Jordan left the game against Houston. The Patriots have had six different starting offensive lines so far this year.

“Every single week is a different combination of players,” said Jerod Mayo. “It’s tough for those guys to build that comradery or that communication. But again, the backup players, they have to prepare like they’re starters every week”.

Though in a loss 3^rd overall draft selection, Drake Maye, showed much potential and gave the struggling Patriots offense life. Maye led the New England offense to score 21 points, the most this season.

“I thought Drake made some good decisions out there,” said Jerod Mayo. “I thought he had some good reads. I thought he tried to get the ball out of his hands. I thought he did a good job extending plays with his legs and picking up first downs”.

New England’s defense had an uncharacteristic performance versus the Texans offense. The Patriots struggled with tackling and stuffing the run, by allowing Houston to rush for 192 yards.

“Defensively, I would say, just the fundamentals of tackling and our run fits have to improve,” said Jerod Mayo. “I told all those guys, ‘you should feel like crap today’. If you take away those two long runs, we had two runs that over 50 yards. So, that’s just not winning football”.

Up Next

Next week the New England Patriots will travel to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Houston Texans will stay on the road and head to Green Bay to battle the Packers on Sunday.