We'll get into our usual positional ratings, video breakdowns of specific plays, the long-running gamecharts, and three up/down from Sunday's game. But let's lead off with our biggest takeaway from the game — and it has to come from the defensive side of the ball.
Let's get this out of the way right now: the Patriots' pass defense -- in coordination with its pass rush in the season-opening win over the Texans -- was head and shoulders above where it started a year ago.
There were no coverage busts, although the Texans tried mightily to spring one with multiple bunch sets by their wide receivers. And on at least six of Deshaun Watson's dropbacks, there was no place for him to go with the ball. The coverage — which mixed several concepts throughout the game — was that good. That's not hyperbole. Outside of Patrick Chung getting beat by TE Jordan Thomas for a 27-yard pass (even that could have been cleaned up with a better angle from Devin McCourty), the Patriots didn't give Watson many options to make any plays, let alone big plays.
But Watson could have moved the Texans much better than he did. All you had to do was look over at the other sidelines for a manual on how to move your team if your team isn't operating at peak capacity.
Tom Brady knows that for him to be effective, he usually has to stay within the design of the offense and the play. That means, when he hits the top of his drop, the ball has to come out, or he has to buy himself a little more time. And he constantly did that on Sunday, with the biggest example being his four dump offs to James Develin. Watson had similar opportunities — not to mention passes to make to DeAndre Hopkins — but his eyes lingered much too long on options that would never come to fruition. That led him to miss opportunities over and over again to keep the ball advancing. Either that, or he would throw late when the coverage had already caught up.
Just look at these two red-zone sequences. Good defense by the Patriots, sure. But opportunities were there for better quarterbacks to take advantage of.
We all know Watson can be a very good quarterback in this league — he showed that last season. But for whatever reason — likely the knee and rustiness from not getting very much action in the preseason — he wasn't ready to be one against the Patriots. The way New England played on defense, he needed to be at his very best.
Here are the positional ratings against the Texans:
Quarterback (4 out of 5)
Brady had a rough first half — especially the first quarter, outside of the touchdown to Rob Gronkowski. But it seemed like the drive before halftime, with two great throws to Phillip Dorsett and the 28-yarder in the seam to Gronkowski were really good plays where Brady jumpstarted the offense. I had him for seven plus plays and zero negative plays from that point on. ... Brady can take some of the blame for the interception. The rusher was right in his face. Brady normally moves up in the pocket to create a little more space to make a play. ... I thought Brady's throw to James White, when he avoided two rushers and then side-armed it out to White in the right flat with 21 seconds left in the third quarter was his best throw. Toughness and the ability to make that throw ... extremely impressive.
Running backs (3 out of 5)
Nothing really out of the ordinary from this group. They got what was blocked and didn't make many people miss. ... Rex Burkhead looked rusty and had a fumble that might have been huge had Chris Hogan not jumped on it. ... Shame Jeremy Hill got hurt; he was their best back and it wasn't really close. ... White is just a metronome. Same thing, game in and game out. ... Develin had a good run-blocking game and he was a big part of the game plan to thwart the Texans' athletic front.
Receivers (4.5 out of 5)
Outside of the fumble, Gronkowski was stellar in every single way, despite getting constantly double-teamed down the field. Teams are going to see this tape and say, "Well, what are we supposed to do now?" ... Very good first real game for Dorsett. He was crisp with his routes, especially on the touchdown. He's not the cleanest catchers of balls, but he gets the job done. Yes, that pass was intended for Hogan. ... Thought Hogan looked unpolished. Could have a run his route on a third-down crosser a bit sharper to help Brady out. ... Cordarrelle Patterson was about what we thought he would be at this point: a gadget part of the playbook. They need that right now to pickup some cheaper yardage. ... Dwayne Allen gave up two stuffed runs and was completely ignored by Brady in the pass game despite being open. That's all you really need to know right now.
Offensive line (3 out of 5)
Despite giving up a minimal amount of pressure, this was an average game from this group as a whole, with right tackle bringing down the grade for everyone. Marcus Cannon really struggled in his first game back, so it wasn't a surprise to see LaAdrian Waddle get more snaps toward the end of the game. The two combined for nearly as many negative plays (10) as the rest of the line had (12). Plus, Waddle and Cannon each got away with two blatant holds on big plays. ... In order of effectiveness: David Andrews, Trent Brown, Joe Thuney, Shaq Mason, Waddle, Cannon. ... Brown was very good in this game and showed no signs of fatigue. ... Mason, even after the big contract, continued to have the same struggles he showed in camp and preseason.
DEFENSE
Defensive line (4.5 out of 5)
Outside of some spotty work by Malcom Brown (four blown gaps, 31-yard missed tackle), Keionta Davis and Adam Butler — and that's to be expected when the latter two lighter players are on the field — this whole group was outstanding. ... If the Patriots continue with this rotation, it will be a green light for opponents to run when Davis and Butler are on the field at the same time. ... Davis (knockdown) was absolutely crushed by the double team and tight end on Lamar Miller's big run. ... Brown better start to get back to his normal consistent self soon — he was the key against the Jaguars last season — or else he could be trade bait. ... Trey Flowers (nine impactful plays) is just a marvel. Yes, he was going up against three subpar tackles and Watson held onto the ball (two of his pressures came after more than 3.6 seconds after the snap) in this game, but this is the type of production he should have. ... Lawrence Guy (five impactful plays) was tremendous against the run. ... Pretty quiet game from Danny Shelton, who continues to be shaky on his gap integrity. Him getting up the field is a consistent problem. It exposes big cracks in the Patriots run-defense wall. ... Deatrich Wise could have had two more pressures, but they were so late after the snap I assigned them to the team.
Linebackers (4.5 out of 5)
Kyle Van Noy (five impactful plays) was great in this game, which he tends to be early in the season before he gets nicked up. I gave him a forced fumble on the Texans' first play of the game because he did spook Watson into it. ... If the game was closer, he would have played even more on the edge in the 3-3-5. Van Noy was definitely effective there. ... Very interesting they chose Van Noy instead of Dont'a Hightower for that duty. At the beginning of last season, that would have been Hightower. Other than his hurry against a running back — which took 3.7 seconds (an eternity, so it was Watson's fault) — Hightower was once again quiet. But I do like him in the middle of the defense. He had a few nice take-on blocks. Hightower and Elandon Roberts had a couple communication issues that led to some breakdowns vs. the run. ... Loved Ja'Whaun Bentley's debut — he continued to be instinctive and brought more athleticism to the unit. He will learn to be a little better against the pass. Bentley should have anticipated the TD pass to Bruce Ellington, and he will in time.
Secondary (4 out of 5)
As we already touched on, the unit was vastly improved from much of last season. Still, there were some plays for Watson to make, and he simply didn't do it. Most had to do with Devin McCourty at safety, who might be a step slow this season. ... Order of effectiveness in coverage: Jonathan Jones, Stephon Gilmore (would have been higher without two penalties), Eric Rowe, Duron Harmon, Patrick Chung, McCourty. ... Probably the best sign from the group was the number of times they handled trips/bunch without any major issues.