FOXBOROUGH -- The Patriots won a shootout with the Texans on Sunday, as Tom Brady lead a late fourth-quarter drive to help lift New England over Houston, 36-33, in front of a sun-drenched crowd at Gillette Stadium.
Brady went 25-for-35 for 378 yards with five touchdowns, no picks and a passer rating of 146.2. His finest moment of the afternoon came late; when he and the Patriots were down 33-28 with just over two minutes left, he engineered a drive that culminated with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone for what turned out to be the game-winner.
Cooks had his best day as a Patriot, coming away with five catches for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. New England also got 31 rushing yards from Mike Gillislee, a late interception from Duron Harmon and sacks from Trey Flowers and Cassius Marsh in the win.
Houston's Deshaun Watson, bidding to become the first rookie quarterback to ever win a game at Gillette Stadium, ended up 22-for-33 for 301 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The two teams went back and forth through the first three-plus quarters, as Brady found Chris Hogan for a pair of touchdowns, and added scoring strikes to Cooks and Rob Gronkowski. Watson matched Brady throw for throw on the day, doing an excellent job managing the game and only ending with one turnover in the early going, a first-half interception that was picked off by Stephon Gilmore.
In the fourth quarter, with the Patriots holding a 28-27 lead, a pair of field goals from Ka'imi Fairbairn (31 and 36 yards) made it 33-28 Houston. That set the stage for the dramatic finish, which included the touchdown pass to Cooks and a late interception from Harmon that sealed the deal.
Game action from Price...
4:22 p.m.: That's it. Pats win,. 36-33.
4:15 p.m.: Two-pointer is good. 36-33 with 23 seconds left.
4:12 p.m.: HUGE catch there from Amendola. And they follow that with a touchdown to Cooks. Pats take the lead. We're waiting on the extra point.
4:09 p.m.: Big passes to Gronkowski and Cooks get the offense cranked up again.
4:07 p.m.: Two-minute warning and the Patriots have the ball at their own 23. They're facing a third and 12.
4:01 p.m.: 36-yard field goal is good. 33-28 with 2:24 left.
4:00 p.m.: New England calling time outs here underscores the growing urgency of the situation it is facing.
3:54 p.m.: The Patriots have had issues finishing today, as well as the regular-season opener. Have to do something here to get the ball back.
3:50 p.m.: Disappointing 3-and-out sequence there for the New England offense.
3:49 p.m.: Dion Lewis couldn't get the first down there?
3:46 p.m.: Pats force a punt here. Big sequence for the New England offense is coming up -- need to convert on at least a field goal.
3:44 p.m.: More unease here as the Texans start to approach midfield.
3:37 p.m.: Boos here in Foxborough as the New England punt team heads onto the field.
3:34 p.m.: Just a reminder -- no rookie quarterback has ever won as a starter in Foxborough. Watson has 12 minutes to go, but he's come as close as anyone to this point.
3:32 p.m.: 32-yard field goal is good. 30-28, Houston, with 12:13 left in regulation.
3:30 p.m.: Patriots haven't stopped Texans when it's mattered on this drive. Houston now in the red area.
3:29 p.m.: Another first down for Houston.
3:26 p.m.: End of the third quarter, 28-27.
3:25 p.m.: Great catch there by Ellington. Nothing you can do about that as the Texans keep the chains moving.
3:21 p.m.: Ball goes back to the Texans. Man up time here for the New England defense. Gilmore is back on the field.
3:18 p.m.: Brady channeling his inner Brett Favre with that one -- he flipped it to Gronkowski.
3:14 p.m.: Houston keeps shooting itself in the foot.
3:07 p.m.: 12-yard touchdown pass and extra point makes it 28-27. Watson has been impressive today. Calm, poised and smart behind a not-so-great offensive line. He's 16-for-21 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. One of the best in this group, to be sure.
3:03 p.m.: Gilmore is not on the field for this series. Sounds like he was taken to the locker room -- on the radio broadcast, Bob Socci said it was dehydration.
3:03 p.m.: That 35-yarder was something else.
2:59 p.m.: 3 catches, 88 yards, one touchdown for Cooks today.
2:55 p.m.: THAT was a really nice play-fake there. Ton of guys bit on that. Brady to Cooks for the touchdown to make it 28-20 with 12:45 left in the third quarter.
Goodbye, @brandincooks! pic.twitter.com/M9hOB6yptk
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 24, 2017
.@deshaunwatson finds @BruceElling10 for SIX! ?#WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/rH8WKK9tX5
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 24, 2017
Two of my points: Texans special teams haven’t played well since a Bush was President. When teams get time to go deep, big plays can be had. https://t.co/hGQwt8VZbL
— Jerome Solomon (@JeromeSolomon) September 24, 2017
