Final, Patriots 27-0: And that will do it.
The Patriots ride an efficient performance by Jacoby Brissett, a masterful special-teams showing, another 100-yard effort by LeGarrette Blount and a smothering defense to an emphatic 27-0 home victory over the Houston Texans. on “Thursday Night Football.”
Next up: the Buffalo Bills, who visit Gillette Stadium next Sunday afternoon.
Fourth quarter, 1:08, Patriots 27-0: Allen pins Texans deep once again for what should be the final series of the ballgame.
Fourth quarter, 3:11, Patriots 27-0: Four-and-out No. 3 for Brock Osweiler & Co.
Fourth quarter, 6:41, Patriots 27-0: Ryan Allen continues his masterful punting performance, pinning the Texans deep at their own 5.
Fourth quarter, 8:19, Patriots 27-0: Another four-and-out for Houston. New England takes over.
Fourth quarter, 11:00, Patriots 27-0: It took all of 40 seconds for the Patriots to pad their lead.
After rushing for six yards on first down, LeGarrette Bount ripped off a 41-yard touchdown run on the very next play. He now has 102 yards on 20 carries, his second consecutive 100-yard effort.
Fourth quarter, 11:40, Patriots 20-0: Jabaal Sheard’s second sack of the night and an after-the-whistle flag on Jaelen Strong force Houston to punt from its own end zone. New England takes over with prime field position, ball at the Texans’ 47.
Fourth quarter, 13:33, Patriots 20-0: After a quick three-and-out, the Pats punt it away. Ryan Allen, who pins the Texans inside their 20 once again, has been fantastic tonight.
Fourth quarter, 14:12, Patriots 20-0:Jamie Collins sniffs out a Texans screen pass on third down, and Malcolm Butler breaks up a pass intended for Will Fuller on fourth. The Patriots take over after the turnover on downs.
End third quarter, Patriots 20-0: It took until the final two minutes of the third quarter, but the Texans finally crossed midfield for the first time all night. They’ll start the fourth quarter with a third-and-4 from the Patriots’ 36-yard line.
Third quarter, 3:27, Patriots 20-0: The Patriots gained 7 yards on three plays and were forced to punt. The Texans have the ball on their own 20-yard line after a 57-yard punt and roll from Ryan Allen.
Third quarter, 4:51, Patriots 20-0: The Patriots forced another punt, have the ball on their own 16-yard line, and the Texans still haven’t run a play in Patriots territory.
Third quarter, 5:41, Patriots 20-0: The Patriots now have a three-score lead over the Texans AND drained another two and a half minutes off the clock. LeGarrette Blount capped the 21-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Texans were called for pass interference twice in the red zone, both while covering tight end Martellus Bennett.
Patriots fans began chanting “ROG-ER, ROG-ER, ROG-ER” after the touchdown for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Third quarter, 8:12, Patriots 13-0: The Patriots recovered another fumbled kick return. Nate Ebner forced it and Jordan Richards recovered it. Tyler Ervin fumbled.
Third quarter, 8:19, Patriots 13-0: The Patriots extended their lead on a 25-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. Brissett is now 8 of 12 for 92 yards. Brissett targeted Edelman in the end zone on third and 6, but the ball slipped through the receiver’s hands.
End half, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots ran three plays, picking up 20 yards, then kneeled on the ball twice to go into the half. They get the ball back in the second half.
Second quarter, 1:17, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots forced another punt late in the second quarter. The Texans haven’t run a single play in Patriots’ territory.
Second quarter, 4:53, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots picked up one first down — on a 16-yard completion to Danny Amendola on third and 15 — before punting. The Patriots also ran a reverse to Martellus Bennett, the tight end’s first career carry.
Second quarter, 8:11, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots quickly went three and out on offense.
They forced a punt on defense and have the ball on their own 25-yard line. Osweiler is 6 of 12 for 74 yards with an interception.
Brissett is 4 of 6 for 43 yards. He has 43 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
Second quarter, 13:36, Patriots 10-0: The Texans were making their way down the field until Jamie Collins made an athletic play to pick off QB Brock Osweiler. Collins ran it back 18 yards to the Texans’ 43.
First quarter, 1:54, Patriots 10-0: Sure didn’t take long for the Patriots to score again. Jacoby Brissett took a bootleg 27 yards for a rushing touchdown. He showed off an impressive move and dive to get into the end zone.
First quarter, 2:01, Patriots 3-0: The Patriots have the ball back after Charles James fumbled the kickoff return. Brandon Bolden forced it and Duron Harmon recovered it for the Patriots. The Patriots have the ball on their own 22.
First quarter, 2:07, Patriots 3-0: The Patriots take an early lead in what should be a low-scoring affair. The Patriots picked up a large chunk of yards on a 27-yard catch and run by rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
First quarter, 6:59: The Patriots forced another punt after allowing two first downs. The Patriots have the ball on their own 20 after a touchback.
First quarter, 10:56: The Patriots went three and out and also were forced to punt. Jacoby Brissett went 1 of 2 for 6 yards on his first drive. He missed on a deep throw to Chris Hogan.
First quarter, 12:28: The Patriots’ defense allowed just one first down and forced a punt. The Texans’ first down came on a 14-yard completion from QB Brock Osweiler to receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Defensive end Jabaal Sheard finished the drive with a sack — his first of the season.
First quarter, 15:00: The Patriots won the coin toss and chose to defer. Let’s go.
8:04 p.m.:
7:54 p.m.:
Bill Belichick and former Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork just shared a hug on the field. Wilfork now is the Texans’ starting nose tackle.
7:40 p.m.: Cyrus Jones, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman returned punts in warmups. James White and Patrick Chung handled kickoff duty.
7 p.m.: Jimmy Garoppolo officially is inactive.
Here’s the rest of the Patriots’ inactives:
TE AJ Derby
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
RB D.J. Foster
OT LaAdrian Waddle
CB Eric Rowe
G Jonathan Cooper
LB Dont’a Hightower
Here are the Texans’ inactives:
6:30 p.m.:
6:04 p.m.: The Patriots reportedly plan to limit Gronkowski’s workload tonight in his season debut.
Gronkowski’s last game action came in last season’s AFC Championship Game. — Zack Cox
5:11 p.m.: A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Gronk will play, if Kraft’s near confirmation wasn’t good enough for you.
5:07 p.m.: Robert Kraft all but confirmed Rob Gronkowski is playing tonight.
12:08 p.m.: A source told ESPN’s Mike Reiss that Jimmy Garoppolo is not expected to be active tonight. It appears Julian Edelman will be the Patriots’ backup quarterback.
Remove Foster from our inactive projections and replace him with Garoppolo.
11:15 a.m. ET: Tight end Rob Gronkowski and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo reportedly will be in uniform for the New England Patriots when they take on the Houston Texans on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, but it remains to be seen how much they actually see the field.
Garoppolo will suit up but won’t start, NFL Media’s Courtney Fallon reported Thursday morning. Rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett will start in Garoppolo’s place. Garoppolo suffered a reported Grade 2 AC joint sprain in Week 2. A grade 2 AC joint sprain typically takes between two and four weeks to recover.
Gronkowski has told teammates he expects to play this week, The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin reported. The Patriots could choose to ease Gronkowski back into the offense after he missed two games with a hamstring injury.
Given that news, here are our projected inactives for Thursday night’s game:
RB D.J. Foster
TE Clay Harbor
G Jonathan Cooper
OT LaAdrian Waddle
LB Elandon Roberts
LB Dont’a Hightower
CB Eric Rowe
The game will air on CBS, NFL Network and Twitter. Kickoff is at 8:25 p.m.
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Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images