Jacoby Brissett’s dominance over the Texans has ended.
The third-string quarterback led a comeback effort on New England’s final drive of the game, but a fumble while trying to throw in the red zone led to the ball going out of the end zone for a touchback to secure a 27-23 Houston victory Saturday night.
The loss for the Pats dropped New England to 0-2 this preseason, taking the Patriots from being considered Super Bowl favorites to for sure remaining Super Bowl favorites.
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Ultimately, Saturday’s game wasn’t about Brissett, however, but rather Tom Brady. The 40-year-old quarterback made his preseason debut, playing two series for New England. Rob Gronkowski also played, taking the field for two series in his first preseason action since 2012.
THE QUARTERBACKS
New England Patriots
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Tom Brady: 6-of-9, 67 yards, 1 TD, O INT
Jimmy Garoppolo: 15-of-23, TD, INT, lost fumble
Jacoby Brissett: 5-of-10, 36 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
TD-REX
Tom Brady sassed Rex Burkhead for not hurrying back to the huddle after a first down on the Pats’ second drive, but that was the lone hiccup in an otherwise whopper of a drive for the duo.
Brady and Burkhead connected twice on the drive, capped by a 22-yard touchdown on an angle route for the former Bengal. Burkhead’s other catch on the drive went for 16 yards, with him rushing for 12 yards during the series.
Burkhead, who got the start, totaled seven rushes for 20 yards and three receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown.
JIMMY GAROPPOLO: BAD PRACTICE PLAYER, GOOD ACTUAL PLAYER, GOOD PRESEASON PLAYER, BAD PRESEASON PLAYER
The back-and-forth surrounding what kind of player Jimmy Garoppolo went from “good preseason player” last week back to “possibly bad preseason player.” I don’t think the hourly update on the guy is exactly necessary, but we’re pot committed at this point.
Garoppolo was being chased in the backfield early in the fourth quarter when, seemingly in an attempt to throw the ball away, he instead gave it away. The fourth-year quarterback didn’t sail his throw nearly high enough, and thus it was picked by Denzel Rice. The Texans scored a touchdown on the ensuing series.
Worth keeping in mind as we closely monitor Garoppolo’s practice snaps and preseason throws: He’s never thrown a pick in an actual game.
ROBERTS HURT
Elandon Roberts was carted off in the third quarter after a collision with Jonathan Freeney. Shortly after, the Patriots announced he had a rib injury.
Earlier in the game, Vincent Valentine suffered what looked to be a left leg injury, but he returned to the game. Malcolm Mitchell was repeatedly spotted grabbing his right knee after plays.
NOT MUCH COOKIN’ WITH TOP RECEIVERS
The second preseason game saw such receivers as Brandin Cooks, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola play, but there wasn’t a whole lot going on in their limited action. Cooks caught the only pass that was thrown his way for a seven-yard reception, with Amendola also making one catch for six yards. Edelman didn’t catch either of his targets, while the only pass Brady threw to Hogan was intercepted, but ruled an incompletion given that the defensive back didn’t have both feet in bounds.
ROUGH START FOR BUTLER
Stephon Gilmore lost out on a fumble recovery because the play on which he scooped up the ball was ruled an incomplete pass, but he probably couldn’t complain considering how the night started for fellow corner Malcolm Butler.
The fourth-year corner was beaten along the sideline by Bruce Ellington on a jump ball for a 37-yard play on Houston’s first drive. On the following drive, Jaelen Strong beat Butler in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
CYRUS JONES BEGINS COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR BID
Hey, speaking of corners, something good involving Cyrus Jones happened.
The second-year player had a 32-yard punt return in the second quarter and then a 15-yard return in the fourth. He got burned for long touchdowns zero times, which is two times less than he did in the preseason opener against the Jaguars. Progress.
STARTERS
Offense: Cameron Fleming, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon, Rob Gronkowski, Brandin Cooks, Julian Edelman, James Develin, Rex Burkhead, Tom Brady
Defense: Kony Ealy, Lawrence Guy, Vincent Valentine, Trey Flowers, Elandon Roberts, Kyle Van Noy, David Harris, Stephon Gilmore, Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty