Game Report: Branch, Guy and rest of defensive line play deep into game

HOUSTON — The Patriots may not have a lot of depth at either end spot, but that didn’t stop them from giving the top defensive linemen extended playing time well into the third quarter in Saturday night’s 27-23 loss to the Texans.

Trey Flowers continued to play sparingly, but he started along with Malcolm Brown, Vincent Valentine and Kony Ealy. Alan Branch, in his first game since being activated from the PUP list, also received a lot of playing time, and so did fellow tackle Lawrence Guy.

“We weren’t sure how long we were going to play, but we went out there and did our job until they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you anymore,’” said Guy, who is in his first year with the Patriots after signing from the Ravens. “

Branch looked outstanding and showed no apparent conditioning problems as he plugged the middle of the Patriots’ defensive line.

“It was great playing with somebody that’s that experienced and that size — that’s a big man,” said Guy, who had the Patriots’ lone sack. “He’s a great player, so I enjoyed it when I got to line up next to him. He’s a great athlete that does his job very well.

“I’m glad I get to play next to him. I don’t feel too happy for the offensive linemen that have to hit him, but I’m glad I get to play next to him.”

Ealy helped generate pressure on Guy’s sack, but was largely invisible. It was the first time that Ealy’s been asked to play a lot on his feet from a two-point stance.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Gronkowski plays: It’s not quite as rare as Monday’s solar eclipse, but the sight of Rob Gronkowski suited up in playing in a preseason game is nearly as uncommon. Gronkowski last played in an exhibition game on Aug. 24, 2012, the third of four games that season. Gronkowski played 41 snaps and caught two passes on two targets against the Buccaneers, including a 16-yard touchdown. This time around the Patriots elected not throw the ball Gronkowski’s way. He played the first two Patriots series and executed four pass routes, four run blocks and two pass blocks. “We expect to play every game, no matter when it is,” Gronkowski said. “It felt good to be out there, get my wet. It was great. I love to play football and it felt great to be out there. It just felt good to be out there with the boys, for sure.”

Patriots had some ball control issues: The Patriots turned the ball over three times (one Jimmy Garoppolo interception, two fumbles) and had four fumbles overall. The turnovers all came near the end of the third quarter through the end of the game. Garoppolo was walloped by linebacker Tony Washington when a blocking assignment was messed up with 4:04 left in the third quarter. Garoppolo threw a sloppy interception after being flushed from the pocket with 11:20 left in the fourth quarter, and then Jacoby Brissett was sacked and fumbled at the Houston 15-yard line with 43 seconds left. Justin Coleman and James O’Shaughnessy had fumbles that were recovered.

Brady, first-team offense looked sharp: After gaining 17 yards on six plays on their first possession, the Patriots’ first-team offense had a scoring drive of 10 plays and 75 yards. Tom Brady and RB Rex Burkhead starred on the drive, hooking up on passes of 16, 12 and 22 yards, the latter of which was the touchdown. Brady completed passes to four different players: Brandin Cooks, James White, Burkhead and Danny Amendola.

THREE UP

RB Rex Burkhead: Showed off was he’s been doing in practice with a good blend of running and receiving skills.

RB Dion Lewis: Continues to look more and more like his pre-knee surgery self, especially on back to back plays where he busted loose for 14 yeards, and then made Texans S Marcus Gilchrist look foolish and grasping at air on a jump stop and start behind the line.

DT Alan Branch: Played into the second half with the rest of the defensive line and it picked up where he left off. Branch is basically a boss in the middle of the Patriots’ line. He’s where runs go to die. Continues to be powerful and a load to block.

THREE DOWN

CB Malcolm Butler: In limited time, gave up a 37-yard jump ball along the right sideline, and then slipped to give up the Texans’ first touchdown.

DE Kony Ealy: Did contribute to Guy’s sack but outside of that, he didn’t do much. Ealy didn’t register an official tackle and he was called for an encroachment.

S David Jones: Whiffed on a tackle that would have prevented D’Onta Freeman’s 63-yard reception on third-and-2 with 5:23 left in the third quarter.

INJURIES

LB Elandon Roberts: Left the game and was taken to the locker room with what was officially called a rib injury.
WR Malcolm Mitchell: Appeared to sustain a right knee injury but stayed in the game.
OG Jamil Douglas: Had a right knee injury but stayed in the game.
DL Vincent Valentine: Left the game with a left ankle injury but returned to the game.

Players that were not dressed for the game: WR Matthew Slater, RB Mike Gillislee, RB LeShun Daniels, DB Brandon King, DE Keionta Davis, LB Dont’a Hightower, LB Shea McClellin, OT Tony Garcia, OT LaAdrian Waddle, OT Andrew Jelks, OT Nate Solder, DE Deatrich Wise, DE Derek Rivers, DE Geneo Grissom, TE Matt Lengel.

THREE LINGERING THOUGHTS

More depth problems at end: The Patriots were already dealing with depth issues on the edge of their defense with Derek Rivers needing season-ending knee surgery, and then it got worse when Geneo Grissom was a scratch, seemingly out of nowhere. Don’t recall Grissom getting hurt in West Virginia, but something must have happened. It showed up some on the field when Texans starting QB Tom Savage was able to go 8 for 9 for 98 yards and a touchdown (149.1 rating). The Texans gained 139 net yards on 19 plays during their first two drives (first ended on downs at the Patriots’ 8-yard line).

TE James O’Shaughnessy makes a bid: After being injured for part of camp, O’Shaughnessy showed off a little bit in the joint practices, and then continued that in the game with a team-high five catches for 51 yards.

Good to see Cyrus Jones rebound: Ok, so he had a tackling issue on Foreman’s 63-yard reception and was tackled for a 2-yard loss on one punt return, but Jones showed why he’s still around with a 32-yard punt return, and an exciting 15-yard scamper across the field that even had Bill Belichick applauding. And with several of his teammates jumping up to encourage him, you tell his teammates like him and want to see Jones do well. A good bounce-back effort for him. "It looks like he made something out of nothing a couple times so that gave us some good field position," Belichick said.