Give due credit
Reason for Pats sloppiness: Texans defense
Tom Brady was visibly and admittedly agitated Saturday night after the Patriots’ 34-16 victory against the Texans because he knew the offensive sloppiness wouldn’t be up to snuff in the AFC Championship Game.
That’s all fair. The Pats made some ugly mistakes, Brady himself included, but the notion also shouldn’t discount the Texans’ strong defensive showing. The Patriots dispatched of a defense that is likely the best they’ll face during the playoffs, and they scored 27 offensive points while doing so.
That’s not to say the Patriots couldn’t have done a better job handling some of that Texans-imposed adversity, and that seemed to be Brady’s point.
“It doesn’t feel great because we worked pretty hard to play a lot better than we played,” Brady said to perfectly sum up his sentiment.
After all, he had the worst completion percentage (47.4) of his 32 playoff starts, and he won for just the fifth time in nine playoff games when he was intercepted at least twice.
The majority of the miscues started with the Texans’ pressure. Brady was hit eight times, including two sacks, which signified the second worst beating he took all season (Week 8, Bills). And after only allowing 1.5 sacks all season, center David Andrews surrendered two against the Texans thanks to electric moves by edge rusher Whitney Mercilus. Future opponents will surely deploy their quickest pass rushers over Andrews to test his ability to adjust.
There were plenty of other examples when the protection was the product of improper execution. On third-and-1 during the opening series, Brady’s quick-snap handoff to Dion Lewis was stuffed for a loss because Brian Cushing blew up fullback James Develin and hit Lewis 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Right guard Shaq Mason allowed a quick third-down pressure during the initial series of the second half, so Brady had no chance to hit Chris Hogan, who broke free over the middle.
And later in the third after Julian Edelman’s 26-yard catch against Kareem Jackson on third andadvanced the ball to the Texans’ 30-yard line, Jadeveon Clowney beat left tackle Nate Solder to hit Brady and force an incompletion. Wide receiver Michael Floyd, who showed his warts, was then flagged for offensive pass interference, and Brady missed Edelman down the field on the next play. Danny Amendola’s third-down drop kept the Pats out of field-goal range, so a combination of blocking woes and failed situational football cost them points.
Brady’s second interception involved layered miscues. Marcus Cannon was quickly beaten by Mercilus to force a quick decision by the quarterback, who never saw Benardrick McKinney float underneath Edelman’s route. McKinney tipped the pass to Andre Hal for the pick.
Brady also missed a fourth-quarter throw to Edelman on third-and-7 when it was still 24-16, as the throw sailed behind his open receiver on a play that should have resulted in an easy conversion. But Brady also withstood two hits earlier in the series, including a roughing penalty against Clowney, that may have conceivably altered his accuracy.
It’s also possible the pressure led to Brady’s uncharacteristic deep prayers throughout the game, though the Texans’ tight coverage can’t be discounted either. Still, it was reminiscent of far too many moments late in 2015 when Brady lobbed far too many 50-50 balls when the offensive line struggled and the skill positions were depleted by injuries.
Brady shot out seven of those 50-50 balls against the Texans, completing three for 119 yards due to spectacular catches from Edelman and Hogan.
Floyd’s night wasn’t exactly impressive, either. On the first interception, maybe Brady’s throw led Floyd too far. Maybe Floyd’s route wasn’t sharp enough. Whatever the case, that’s a play that has to be made in a playoff game. Floyd also ran a lazy route against cornerback A.J. Bouye on the first play of the second half, and the Patriots were lucky the throw didn’t get picked off.
There was also a key goalline stand prior to halftime when the Texans simply had superior execution. The Pats had a well-designed submarine route for Lewis in the right flat on first-andgoal from the 3, but the Texans read it well and Brady ultimately scrambled to the 1. On second down, safety Eddie Pleasant made a heck of a tackle to stop Develin inches before the goal line.
And on third down, Brady’s back foot was planted, which indicated the sneak was in play, but he stayed with the handoff to Blount, who led the NFL with 11 touchdowns from the 1-yard line. Even though Blount was stuffed, Brady likely wouldn’t have fared any better, as defensive tackles Vince Wilfork and D.J. Reader played the sneak if he went low and linebacker Brian Cushing was in position to launch into Brady if he leaped.
The Texans were mostly able to marry strong coverage with a pass rush that harassed Brady more than any other point during the Patriots’ eight-game winning streak. They shouldn’t face a more exotic defense during the postseason, so that’ll help, but it doesn’t mean Brady won’t demand better results from another long week of preparation.