Brissett, Patriots embarrass Texans

Filling in for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo and suspended Tom Brady, the Patriots’ third-string QB completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards in his first National Football League start. The injury turned out to be a sprained AC joint in Garoppolo’s throwing shoulder, which will keep him sidelined Thursday night.

The victory put the Patriots at 3-0 and tied Bill Belichick with Curly Lambeau for fourth all-time with 226 wins. And the Patriots – on a short week of preparation – crafted a savvy game plan created to highlight Brissett’s skill set in his first career start.

Brissett, 6 of 9 in his debut Sunday, was 11 of 19 for 103 yards passing and ran for 48 yards on eight carries Thursday.

“This is a really satisfying win”, he said before praising the coaching staff’s preparation and the players’ commitment. Had he been completely healthy, he would have been a quality target for Brissett in his first start in prime time against a good Texans defense. Later in the third quarter Nate Ebner forced another fumble that was recovered by Jordan Richards on the Texans’ 21. With a comfortable lead throughout the game, they were able to keep things moving on the ground.

GROUND GAME: Blount has scored touchdowns in all three games this season. His 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter gave New England a 27-0 lead. But the 284 total yards weren’t almost enough to overcome three turnovers and three 4th-down stops registered by the Patriots.

The Texans got to the 50 once but have not crossed it. Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler was 24 for 41 for 196 yards and was sacked twice. After performing admirably to close out the game against the Dolphins, Brissett is in line for his first National Football League start against a miserly Texans defence which is ranked third in both points conceded and yards allowed.

This isn’t unusual for Watt, according to ESPN Stats and Info, as the Patriots are the only team Watt has zero sacks against after playing them at least three times in his career. Turnovers were the other factor.

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Houston didn’t help itself on special teams either, turning the ball over twice on fumbled kickoff returns. It is not clear whether Garoppolo, who was slammed to the turf on his right arm by Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso on Sunday, will be back to face Buffalo in the final game of Brady’s ban on October 2. Tonight was the first time they’ve been shut out in the regular season since 2003, and Bill O’Brien’s team has shown a remarkable propensity to turn into a pumpkin heading into big games.