NFL: 5 takeaways from the Houston Texans' Week 11 win over the New England Patriots
The Houston Texans pulled out a huge win at home against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Houston (3-7) came into this game facing the NFL's second-best rushing offense. The Patriots (4-6) came into the matchup with the Texans facing the worst rush defense in the NFL.
The New England Patriots and Houston Texans left their fan bases with five takeaways.
5. Damiere Byrd had a big game for the Patriots
New England Patriots' wide receiver Damiere Byrd had a big game. Byrd would haul in six catches and one big play that resulted in a touchdown. Patriots quarterback Cam Newton would find Byrd and connect for a 42-yard touchdown.
The Patriots passing game has been struggling in recent games. Byrd would give Cam Newton a lot of help today with his 132 receiving yards. The fifth-year wide receiver would record his best game of the season for the New England Patriots.
Newton needs more productive days like Sunday from Byrd to help him on offense.
4. Houston Texans' defense held New England's running game in check
The Houston Texans came into Sunday's game with the worst rushing defense in the NFL. Houston was giving up 167 yards rushing per game to opponents. The New England Patriots were averaging 161 rushing yards this season.
The Texans' defense held the Patriots to 86 yards on 24 carries on Sunday. Damien Harris would lead the Patriots in rushing with 11 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Houston held Cam Newton to just six yards rushing and did not give up a touchdown to the New England quarterback. The Texans are out of the playoff hunt but this was a good building block for the rest of the season for the Houston Texans' defense.
3. Houston Texans are one-dimensional on offense
The Houston Texans showed once again on Sunday that they're one-dimensional when it comes to the offensive side of the football. Outside of the carries by Deshaun Watson, the Texans only rushed the ball 10 times. The Texans would rush 10 times for 14 yards. Their running backs failed to reach the end zone.
The Houston Texans would gain 399 offensive yards on Sunday against the New England Patriots. Houston only gained 55 yards on the ground. The rest were passing yards, this is showing that they have no faith in their running game. The Texans are going to need to get Deshaun Watson a valuable running back.
2. Cam Newton ends streak of not throwing a TD pass
New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton had not thrown a touchdown pass since Week 3. Newton connected with Damiere Byrd on a 42-yard touchdown on Sunday. The Patriots' quarterback would throw for 306 yards and one touchdown against the Houston Texans.
Cam Newton did not throw an interception for the third straight week. New England's quarterback has been playing smart with the football in recent weeks. The fact that he hadn't thrown a touchdown pass since Week 3 shows that the Patriots receivers need to step up. Newton needs more production like he got today from Byrd for the Patriots to be successful.
1. Deshaun Watson continues his streak without throwing an interception
Deshaun Watson has dropped back and thrown the football a total of 175 times since he last threw an interception. The Texans quarterback has went five straight weeks without turning the football over. During those five weeks Watson has thrown for 1,432 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Houston Texans' quarterback would rush six times for 36 yards and a touchdown. Watson accounted for all the touchdowns the Houston Texans scored on Sunday against the Patriots. Deshaun Watson would record a 75.7 completion percentage on Sunday.
The Houston Texans' quarterback continues to prove that he is the heart and soul of the Texans offense.