The New England Patriots proved the Houston Texans are a little top-heavy Sunday night.
The Patriots eliminated defensive end J.J. Watt and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins — clearly Houston’s best players — and the Texans didn’t stand a chance. This shouldn’t have come as a major surprise, either. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been doing this for years, and Texans head coach — and former New England offensive coordinator — Bill O’Brien likely saw it coming all week.
Because of the way the Texans’ roster is constructed, however, there was nothing O’Brien could do in the 27-6 loss.
Here’s how the Patriots took out Watt and Hopkins:
J.J. WATT
J.J. Watt wore a club over his broken left hand, but that didn’t seem to change the Patriots’ approach in blocking the All-Pro defensive end. It might have affected his play, however.
Watt recorded just one pressure in 36 pass rush snaps. He beat rookie right guard Tre’ Jackson for a hurry midway through the first quarter on Tom Brady’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Martin, and that was it.
Jackson likely should have passed off Watt to Cannon, but the rush took too long to develop anyway with Brady getting rid of the football in just 2.86 seconds.
The Patriots blocked Watt one-on-one 16 times in pass protection, double-teamed him on 15 snaps, triple-teamed him four times and left him unblocked once.
Here’s how frequently each Patriots blocker took on Watt in the passing game:
RT Marcus Cannon: 20
RG Tre’ Jackson: 12
LT Sebastian Vollmer: 7
TE Michael Williams: 6
LG Shaq Mason: 3
RB James White: 3
C Bryan Stork: 3
OT Cameron Fleming: 2
TE Rob Gronkowski: 1
RB Brandon Bolden: 1
Cannon was having a tough stretch as he was recovering from a toe injury, but he deserves a lot of credit for holding up well against Watt. Cannon blocked Watt nine times one-on-one in the passing game and didn’t allow a pressure.
Most of the credit goes out to Brady for getting rid of the ball quickly, however. Brady took an average of 2.17 seconds to pass the ball. Even Watt can’t get into the backfield that quickly unless he goes totally unblocked.
The Patriots ran toward Watt nine times for 34 yards. They ran away from him 18 times for 72 yards and a touchdown. They single-teamed Watt 18 times in the running game, double-teamed him eight times and left him unblocked once. Watt had a bigger impact in the run game, in which he made three tackles, including one for minus-1 yard.
The Patriots double-teamed Watt five times while running away from him and just three times while running toward him. Want to know why? Plays like these:
Watt is extremely athletic for his size and can chase down a running back and blow up a play like few other 290-pound defensive linemen.
Watt also has a tendency to overpursue at times, however, which creates a lane to run through.
This was just the fourth time Watt has been held to one pressure since his rookie season. He was slowed by his broken hand but even more by double teams and smart game-planning.
DEANDRE HOPKINS
Cornerback Logan Ryan tracked Hopkins around the field for all but three passing snaps and the Texans’ star wideout was held to three catches on six targets for 52 yards.
The Patriots mixed coverages against the Texans, using Cover-1 man on 14 plays, Cover-3 zone on nine plays, and they dropped two safeties deep on seven plays.
Ryan only gave up one of Hopkins’ catches — a 40-yarder down the sideline. Patrick Chung allowed a 5-yard reception when the Patriots were in Cover-3 and Ryan’s responsibility was deep, and Hoyer hit Hopkins over the middle when the Patriots dropped into a Cover-2.
Ryan tracked Hopkins, but there typically was a second man watching the talented receiver over the top. Usually, the Patriots were in a standard Cover-1 with a deep safety, though Ryan and safety Duron Harmon double-teamed Hopkins on fourth and 4 with 9:01 left in the third quarter, when the Patriots were up 20-6.
That forced Hoyer to target new Patriots cornerback Leonard Johnson, who was in coverage on Texans tight end Ryan Griffin. Johnson responded with a pass breakup.
Hopkins, lined up on the bottom of the screen, couldn’t go anywhere with Harmon and Ryan draping him on both sides.
Though most of the coverages used against Hopkins were pretty standard stuff, the Patriots clearly got in his head.
“I was doubled the whole game,” Hopkins said after the Texans loss.
Ryan rarely passed off Hopkins unless the Patriots were in zone and deserves most of the acclaim for holding the X receiver in check. Having a deep safety over the top watching a top receiver is smart, but not uncommon. Having a free safety shade over to Hopkins’ side seemed to prevent the Texans from sending Hopkins deep.
Ryan had help over the top on his two pass breakups, but he deserves the credit for getting his hand on the football.
Ryan stayed stride for stride with Hopkins over the middle of the field and easily deflected Hoyer’s pass.
Hopkins briefly got separation on Ryan, but the cornerback was able to recover for another pass breakup late in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots are lucky to have two cornerbacks they can trust on No. 1 receivers in Ryan and Malcolm Butler. The Patriots have their greatest success when they put Butler on a No. 2 receiver — Nate Washington in this game — and Ryan with safety help on the No. 1.
Ryan has shut down Demaryius Thomas and Hopkins in two of the past three weeks, so it’s time for the NFL to start taking him seriously. He’s allowing just a 55.6 passer rating on the season.
Here are other observations from this week’s film study:
— Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks was dominant as a pass rusher and run defender. He led the team with four pressures and had an impressive 1-yard stop in the first quarter.
— Defensive end Jabaal Sheard, like Hicks, stood out as a pass rusher and run defender. He had two sacks and two forced fumbles with a minus-1 yard tackle for loss in the third quarter. Linebacker Jerod Mayo also had his best game of the season after taking over for Jonathan Freeny, who left after just five snaps with a hand injury.
— Brady attempted just two deep passes. He’d been averaging 6.4 attempts per over 20 yards in the last five games. Brady was 1 of 2 for 45 yards. He missed on a deep pass to receiver Brandon LaFell. Brady was smart to avoid too many deep targets. They haven’t been working since losing running back Dion Lewis, who opened up the offense.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images