Rookie quarterback leads Patriots in romp
Brissett, third-stringer, darts, dashes way past Texans in first start
Maybe the Texans thought Jacoby Brissett would run out of bounds at the 5 in the first quarter of his first NFL start.
After all, with Tom Brady suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo injured, the Patriots didn’t have any other quarterbacks on the roster to call upon if the 23year-old rookie got hurt.
But when Brissett broke free around the right side from the Houston 27, he appeared to be cornered by safety Andre Hal inside the 10. Heading for the sideline, Brissett stutter-stepped and let the defender cut in front of him, then slipped through his grasp before diving for the end zone .
“I’m just running until I get stopped,” Brissett said after leading the Patriots to a 27-0 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Coach Bill Belichick said there were no special instructions for the rookie to be cautious. “Like on the touchdown run?” he said. Belichick said Brissett made an instantaneous decision, just as all players do on every play.
“That’s why we win games, because players make good decisions,” said Belichick, who tied Curly Lambeau for fourth on the NFL’s all-time regular-season win list with his 226th career victory. “That’s what we ask them to do.”
Brissett went on to complete 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards, and ran for 48 yards on eight carries as the Patriots took advantage of three Houston turnovers. The 27-yard touchdown run was the longest for a Patriots quarterback since 1976.
New England improved to 3-0 without Brady, who has one game remaining on his suspension. It is not clear whether Garoppolo, who was slammed to the turf on his right arm by Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso last Sunday, will be back to face Buffalo in the final game of Brady’s ban on Oct. 2.
The four-time Super Bowl champion is eligible to return for Week 5 against Cincinnati.
LeGarrette Blount ran for 105 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown, and the Texans fumbled a pair of kickoff returns to set up one- and two-play touchdown drives.
Panthers-Vikings: The NFL said its plans are for Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers to be played as scheduled, although the league will continue to monitor the ongoing violent protests that have gripped Charlotte, North Carolina. Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency in Charlotte on Wednesday night and has sent the National Guard in to help restore peace.
Seahawks: Receiver Doug Baldwin said he is demanding that all 50 state attorneys general ask for reviews of training policies for police and law enforcement. Baldwin made the request during a roughly three-minute statement that led off his meeting with the media. On Wednesday, teammate and fellow Stanford grad and longtime friend Richard Sherman began his press conference with a two-minute statement in which he said more needs to be done to get the message across that recent police actions against African-Americans are unacceptable.
Vikings: Adrian Peterson underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus, and no additional issues were found. The team called Peterson’s surgery successful. It’s not clear whether the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher will return this season. The team has held off putting him on injured reserve and gave no update on his expected return in their statement Thursday on the surgery.
Browns: Rookie wide receiver Corey Coleman will miss at least one month with a broken hand. Coleman was injured in practice on Wednesday. He visited a hand specialist on Thursdayandwas toldhedoesnot need surgery but will need 4 to 6 weeks to recover.
Bears: Top receiver Alshon Jeffery sat out practice because of aknee injury, meaning the team could be missing two key players on offense Sunday against Dallas. Quarterback Jay Cutler is in doubt because of a sprained right thumb. The Bears promoted quarterback Matt Barkley to the active roster and placed linebacker LamarrHouston (ACL) on injured reserve.
Colts: Quarterback Andrew Luck (shoulder) returned to practice but did limited work.