He didn’t have to be.
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Bledsoe, who had been the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 National Football League draft, was the last rookie to start a game at quarterback for the Patriots before Brissett took the field on Thursday night, leading the team out of the tunnel before the game and then to a victory during it. “He’s done nothing but come in here and work as hard as he possibly can”. He’s a hard-working kid. It all added up to a 27-0 win over the Texans in a game where nearly everything went right.
New England’s star quarterback Tom Brady is serving a four-game suspension for his role in the “Deflategate” ball-tampering scandal, and his backup Jimmy Garoppolo was unavailable after injuring his right shoulder last week, so the Patriots had to turn to Brissett; their first rookie quarterback to start a game since Drew Bledsoe in 1993. But until they have to make that decision, it’s pretty evident that the Patriots have plenty of insurance should Brady get hurt later on in the season.
A return fumble and two pass interference calls on third down and goal for New England’s offense, helped extend the possession for them which ultimately led to a TD by running back LeGarrette Blount. Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler was 24 for 41 for 196 yards and was sacked twice. He also went 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on PATs.
“We got smoked”, said Texans nose tackle Vince Wilfork, a longtime Patriot. Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia put together an outstanding game plan that thwarted every single Houston attempt at scoring a single point.
Thirteen seconds of madness from the Texans special teams. We didn’t play well, we didn’t do a good job in any category.
This was unfamiliar for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Osweiler, who backstopped the Patriots’ first loss last season when he made his second National Football League start with the Denver Broncos, was 24 of 41 for 196 yards.
“Just so proud of the way our guys competed and just tried to do everything that we asked them to do and they really worked hard at it”. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards and ran eight times for 48 yards.
New England looks like a machine and once Brady does come back on October 9, it’s scary to think about how much more dominant this Patriots team can be?
The Texans also fumbled away a pair of kickoff returns, and the Patriots scored touchdowns on each of those ensuing possessions. Since 2001, the longest rush by a Patriots quarterback was 22 yards.
Lamar Miller rushed 22 times for 84 yards.
Entering this year, Blount had topped 20 carries in only three of 33 regular season games with the Patriots. It was the 12th 100-yard game of his career, his second in five days.
INJURIES: Houston tight end Stephen Anderson left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
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After Thursday’s win, Schuplinski earned some recognition not only from Belichick during his press conference, but from the entire team during the locker room celebration. Houston P Shane Lechler played in his 225th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NFL.
