Patriots Notebook: Decision to abandon run game proves costly against Texans; Byrd breaks through

You didn’t have to be a football maven or comb through hours of film to chart out the Patriots’ easiest path to victory on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

Just a week removed from besting the Ravens in a primetime matchup, a suddenly rejuvenated Patriots offense had to have been licking its chops at the prospect of unleashing its patented rushing attack against the sieve that has been the Texans’ run defense this season.

Entering Sunday’s matinee, the Patriots — spurred by Damien Harris’ breakthrough season and a strong campaign from Rex Burkhead — ranked third in the league in rushing yards per game (161.1) and seventh in yards per carry (4.8), creating a serious mismatch against a Houston defense ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (167.4).

The results have often been ugly when the Texans have taken to the field against the top rushing teams in the NFL this season, relinquishing 263 yards on the ground to the Titans (sixth in YPG) in Week 6, 231 yards to the Browns (fourth in YPG) in Week 10 and 230 yards to Baltimore (2nd in YPG) in Week 2.

With the stats (and personnel) on their side, the Patriots followed a similar gameplan against Houston's porous defense, marching down the field on their opening series off of a steady diet of toss plays, screens, swing passes and a counter run that exploited the Texans' weakness on the edges.

Harris, who was handed the ball five times for 25 yards in the first drive of the afternoon, closed out the series by running untouched into the end zone from nine yards out — giving New England a 7-0 lead in the opening quarter.

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It seemed like an easy gameplan for the Patriots to execute on every subsequent drive against the Texans — run, rinse, repeat.

So why then did the Patriots — who seemingly had Texans on the ropes with this mismatch — opt to abandon the run as Sunday's game progressed?



For as fruitful as that opening drive was for New England, Harris was relegated as an afterthought in the Patriots' scheme as the minutes ticked off the clock in Houston's eventual 27-20 victory. After being handed the rock five times on that first series, Harris accumulated another 11 yards off of two carries during the following drive. He only touched the ball four more times for the reminder of the afternoon.

Harris, who finished the game with just 43 yards on just 11 total carries, was not limited due to injury, according to Bill Belichick.

So what happened?

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"I think that Houston, the Texans made some adjustments in the running game and I think we had some good opportunities in the passing game, which we took advantage of," Belichick said. "We threw the ball pretty well. So I think that's - we were able to move the ball. That really wasn't the issue. We had, some penalties stopped us and then we had some missed opportunities when we moved it across the 50 or into the scoring zone."

Things went south shortly after Harris strolled into the end zone, with New England primarily abandoning the run after Deshaun Watson and the Texans' offense steamrolled the Pats' defense by way of a six-play, 73-yard scoring drive midway through the first quarter, making it a 7-7 game.

But after Harris' 11 yards on the ground handed New England a fresh set of downs, Josh McDaniels and the Patriots opted to test Houston through the air — with three straight pass attempts from Cam Newton leading to two incompletions and a loss of two yards on a reception from Burkhead, leading to a punt.

On New England's next drive — a 10-play, 45-yard slog that ended with a field goal from Nick Folk — Harris only earned one carry, and just two total snaps.

Houston responded with a pair of scoring drives orchestrated by Watson to build the home team a 21-10 lead at the half, forcing the Patriots to ramp up their passing attack in an attempt to climb out of the hole they put themselves in.

But one has to wonder why New England didn't continue to just slice through Houston's front seven with its ground-and-pound game in the first half — not only because of the favorable matchups, but because it would allow the Pats to bleed the clock and prevent a downright unconscious Watson from continuing to torment New England's secondary.

Perhaps a shift in Houston's defensive strategy did warrant the need for McDaniels to augment New England's strategy, while a strong showing from Damiere Byrd did allow a usually dink-and-dunk passing game to test the Texans' secondary.

But with New England's playoff hopes close to dashed following a defeat like this, it's only natural to second-guess the Patriots' decision to deviate from its original gameplan against the Texans — one that looked close to infallible through the first 10 minutes of Sunday's contest.

Byrd breaks out 

If there was one bright spot for the Patriots on Sunday, it was that the team’s aerial attack was made possible thanks to a breakout showing from Damiere Byrd — who reeled in six catches for 132 yards and a touchdown in the loss. 

The speedy wideout, signed by New England back in March, was expected to contend for regular reps in a rather shallow pool of Patriots receivers — even if Byrd’s numbers don’t exactly leap off the page (825 career receiving yards, three touchdowns over five seasons).

And even though Jakobi Meyers has emerged as Cam Newton’s top receiving target over the last few weeks, Byrd’s ability to slip past opposing secondaries has made him a useful tool for Newton to turn to when needed. 

With Houston focusing its efforts on minimizing the damage Meyers could inflict against them, Byrd was routinely able to pick up chunks of yardage — headlined by his 42-yard touchdown snag in the third quarter, just beyond the reach of Houston CB Phillip Gaines.

It marked the second-longest completed pass that Newton has uncorked this season — and his first touchdown to a wideout all season long.

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Even though most of the Patriots' offense this year has been facilitated through their run game (well, except for today), Byrd has served as a pleasant surprise as New England continues to search for some consistency in the passing game. The 27-year-old receiver has already managed to equal his previous season-high in catches (32) and has already surpassed his previous career marks in yardage (now up to 469 on the year). 

Byrd toed the company line when asked about weighing his breakout individual performance against the final result on the scoreboard.

"It's not really a really a balance," Byrd said postgame. "I mean, we lost the game, and that's really what I go out there to play for, is to win."

Still, for a player without much of a proven track record (production-wise, at least), Byrd's strong showing on Sunday — and in multiple matchups throughout the season — serves as a solid foundation for the wideout to build upon moving forward.

“I always think every game is a day for me. ... You never know what's going to happen. You never know what game you'll get called upon to be that factor on the offense,” Byrd said. “And today was my lucky day. Cam trusted in me and we were able to make a few plays."

Byrd added: “I think I'm proving to myself that I can be consistent and I can continue to improve week in and week out. It's a long season, as we all know. My goal is just to continue to get better as the season progresses and playing my best football in November and December, and just continue to find ways to help our team win games and score touchdowns.”

Patriots fear season-ending injury for Burkhead

To add *injury to insult*, the Patriots' crushing loss to the Texans also featured a number of key cogs on offense go down with injuries, none more severe than Burkhead — who had to be carted off the field in the third quarter due to a gruesome hit to his right knee.

The optics of the hit and the aftermath were pretty dour, with the Patriots immediately ruling the 30-year-old back out for the remainder of the game just minutes being taken out by Texans cornerback Bradley Roby.

Even though Burkhead will need additional testing to determine the severity of the injury, the initial fear is a torn the ACL in his right knee, according to league sources.

Even without an official diagnosis, Burkhead's teammates didn't hold back from expressing their dismay at the thought of the veteran's season coming to an untimely end.

“I’m hurt for him,” James White said, on the verge of tears, postgame. “I’m still hurting for him. (He’s) a good friend of mine — not just a teammate, but a guy I call my friend. To see him go down like that is never good. He was having a great year, as well, making huge plays for us. It’s just tough, man. You just hate to see it.”

The loss of Burkhead is a brutal hit to New England's offense, with the versatile back serving as arguably the Patriots' top dual-threat weapon all season long. Averaging 4.2 yards per carry and 8.1 yards per catch this season, Burkhead was in line to set new career highs both on the ground and through the air this season — entering Sunday's game with 267 rushing yards, 187 receiving yards and six total touchdowns.

With Burkhead likely out for the remainder of the year, expect Sony Michel (activated from IR on Saturday but inactive on Sunday) to draw back into the Patriots' lineup going forward, complementing both Harris and White in the backfield. Undrafted rookie J.J. Taylor could also be in line for some additional looks after not appearing in a game since Week 3 against Las Vegas.