| New England Patriots at Houston Texans |
| Dec 1, 2013 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
| New England Patriots (8-4) | 14 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 40 |
| Houston Texans (6-6) | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Team Stats Comparison |
| NWE | HOU |
| Total Offense | 519 | 305 |
| Rushing Yards | 251 | 36 |
| Passing Yards | 268 | 269 |
| First Downs | 21 | 15 |
| Punt Return Yards | 47 | 27 |
| Kick Return Yards | 83 | 52 |
| Total Yards | 649 | 384 |
| Turnovers | 0 (+1) | 1 (-1) |
| 3rd Down Converstion | 9-17 (52%) | 4-12 (33%) |
| 4th Down Conversion | 2-2 (100%) | 0-0 (0%) |
| 2-Point Conversion | 0-0 (0%) | 0-0 (0%) |
| Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 3/3 | 3/3 |
| Penalties | 8-80 | 4-36 |
| Posession Time | 40:50 | 19:10 |
| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER SCORING | NWE | HOU |
| 11:01 | (NWE) S. Ridley, 6 Yd run (S. Gostkowski kick) | 7 | 0 |
| 7:56 | (NWE) S. Vereen 56 Yd pass from T. Brady (S. Gostkowski kick) | 14 | 0 |
| SECOND QUARTER SCORING | NWE | HOU |
| 12:58 | (HOU) R. Bullock, 30 Yd FG | 14 | 3 |
| 6:43 | (NWE) R. Gronkowski 30 YD pass from T. Brady (S. Gostkowski kick) | 21 | 3 |
| 4:25 | (HOU) R. Bullock, 49 Yd FG | 21 | 6 |
| 0:39 | (NWE) S. Gostkowski, 46 Yd FG | 24 | 6 |
| 0:00 | (HOU) R. Bullock, 18 Yd FG | 24 | 9 |
| THIRD QUARTER SCORING | NWE | HOU |
| 1:11 | (NWE) S. Vereen, 18 Yd run (S. Gostkowski kick) | 31 | 9 |
| FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | NWE | HOU |
| 9:32 | (NWE) S. Vereen 5 Yd pass from T. Brady | 38 | 9 |
| 7:22 | (HOU) O. Daniels 5 Yd pass from T. Yates | 38 | 16 |
| 1:08 | (HOU) Team Safety | 40 | 16 |
| New England Patriots | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | T. Brady | 22/33 (66%) | 276 | 3 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | S. Ridley | 20 | 134 | 6.7 | 1 | | L. Blount | 13 | 48 | 3.6 | 0 | | S. Vereen | 8 | 52 | 6.5 | 1 | | J. Develin | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 1 | | T. Brady | 2 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | | B. Bolden | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | D. Amendola | 7 | 85 | 12.1 | 0 | | S. Vereen | 7 | 115 | 16.7 | 2 | | R. Gronkowski | 3 | 35 | 11.6 | 1 | | A. Dobson | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 | | M. Hoomanawanui | 2 | 12 | 6.0 | 0 | | K. Thompkins | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | | BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK | | N. Solder | 8 | 1 | | L. Mankins | 7 | 0 | | S. Vollmer | 4 | 0 | | R. Wendell | 4 | 0 | | D. Connolly | 2 | 0 | | DEFENSE | T-A | SACK | INT | TD | | J. Mayo | 11-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. Spikes | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | D. Hightower | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | R. Ninkovich | 3-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | | D. McCourty | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | S. Gregory | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | A. Talib | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | A. Dennard | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | D. Fletcher | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Collins | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | M. Cole | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | K. Arrington | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | T. Kelly | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Vellano | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | N. Ebner | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | S. Gostkowski | 1/2 | 5/5 | 8 | 46 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | R. Allen | 3 | 123 | 41.0 | 1 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | J. Boyce | 4 | 83 | 20.7 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | J. Edelman | 4 | 47 | 11.7 | 0 |
| | Houston Texans | | PASSING | C/A | YDS | TD | INT | | T. Yates | 21/35 (60%) | 284 | 1 | 1 | | M. Schaub | 0/4 (0%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | | A. Foster | 13 | 29 | 2.2 | 0 | | B. Tate | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | | T. Yates | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | | RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | | A. Foster | 7 | 75 | 10.7 | 0 | | O. Daniels | 7 | 74 | 10.2 | 1 | | A. Johnson | 3 | 50 | 16.6 | 0 | | G. Graham | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 0 | | D. Hopkins | 1 | 27 | 27.0 | 0 | | B. Tate | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | | BLOCKING | PANCAKE | SACK | | C. Myers | 2 | 0 | | W. Smith | 1 | 1 | | D. Newton | 0 | 2 | | DEFENSE | T-A | SACK | INT | TD | | D. Manning | 10-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Watt | 9-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | K. Jackson | 6-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | W. Mercilus | 5-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | B. Cushings | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | E. Reed | 5-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. Braman | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | D. Sharpton | 5-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. MCCain | 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J.Mays | 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | B. Harris | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | T. Jamison | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | T. Williams | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | E. Mitchell | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | J. Joseph | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | KICKING | FG | XP | PTS | LONG | | R. Bullock | 3/3 | 1/1 | 10 | 50 | | PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | IN20 | | S. Lechler | 6 | 264 | 44.0 | 0 | | KICK RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | K. Martin | 2 | 52 | 26.0 | 0 | | PUNT RETURN | RET | YDS | AVG | TD | | K. Martin | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 |
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What a difference a week makes. Against the Denver Broncos, Tom Brady looked out of sync with his receivers and missed badly on many of his throws. This week, Brady was precise and decisive with his throws. The only thing that didn't change from last week was New England's dominance running the football.
The Patriots haven't started games fast this season. In fact, New England has averaged just 4.1 points per game in the 1st quarter this season. Going against one of the top ranked defenses on the league, it appeared as though points would be hard to come by. New England moved the ball against the Houston Texans' defense like they had the worst defense in the league. When the dust settled at the end of the first quarter, New England had a 14-0 lead.
Just like last weeks game against Denver, New England made a bad situation worse. Rob Ninkovich sacked Texans' quarterback Matt Schaub and the play resulted in the quarterback being injured. Even without Schaub, the Texans' offense had a couple decent drives in the second quarter. While the Houston's drives ended with field goals, New England added 10 more points and went into half time with a 24-9 lead.
Though the Texans scored three times in the second quarter, they were only field goals.
The Patriots' offense slowed down a bit in the third quarter, but the defense was still stingy. Most of the third quarter featured unsuccessful drives from both teams. The Patriots managed to find the endzone on an 18 yard run by Shane Vereen that gave them a commanding 31-9 lead. Even with that lead, the Patriots continued to put pressure on the Texans' defense.
Shane Vereen had his best game of the season against the Texans with 15 touches and 162 total yards from scrimmage to go along with two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
The fourth quarter featured more of the same from the Patriots and the Texans. The Texans were kept out of the endzone all day until they scored on a five yard pass from T.J Yates to Owen Daniels. It was too little too late by then as the Patriots had a 38-16 lead. A play near the end of the fourth quarter encapsulated the way the game went for the Texans. With the ball on their 1 yard line, Yates took the snap from center and stepped out the back of the endzone, giving the Patriots a 40-16 victory.
With this win, the Patriots are now 8-4 and in good position to make the playoffs. Before they get that far, they'll have to win their next game against the Cleveland Browns.
Game Ball/Extra Rep
Game Ball:
Shane Vereen: With 162 total yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns, not only did Vereen earn a game ball, he also earns AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
Tom Brady: This is the Brady that fans have come to love and respect. Another solid day from the quarterback.
Rob Ninkovich: Ninkovich has played on such a high level this season, adding two more sacks to his impressive totals so far.
Extra Reps
Special Teams Coverage: The special teams unit didn't perform horribly, but some smaller issues could be cleaned up.
Media Reaction
Trey Wingo @WingoZEA: Maybe the Patriots like the hotel life. they looked great this week.
Chris Mortensen @mortreportEA: No answers for T. Brady as he topples over the #Texans. He just looked determined. #Patriots