FOXBORO, Mass. — The Houston Texas showed Sunday why they are one of the best teams in the NFL. The New England Patriots showed why they are one of the worst, even with Drake Maye making his first career start.
The disparity played out on the Gillette Stadium turf as the Patriots were outclassed by the Texans and dealt a 41-21 loss at Gillette Stadium. It is the fifth straight loss for the Patriots.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Patriots in their lopsided defeat:
STUDS
DeMario Douglas, WR
The demands to get Douglas more involved in the offense appear to be way in the past. He was Maye’s go-to option in the rookie quarterback’s first career start. One of New England’s only receivers who can consistently create separation, Douglas caught a team-high six catches for 92 yards with a touchdown. Douglas’ touchdown grab — the first of his career — was impressive as he caught a slant from Maye on third-and-5 before outrunning Texans safety Eric Murray. It’s clear Douglas is New England’s best offensive playmaker at the moment.
Marte Mapu, S
Mapu is turning into a playmaker at all levels of the defense. He shook off a bogus pass interference penalty, which led to Houston’s first touchdown of the game, to deliver a strong performance. He registered five tackles and even came up with half a sack on Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Mapu, who briefly left the game with a neck injury in the first half, also played a key role in the interception Stroud threw in the second quarter. Stroud forced a pass into the end zone for tight end Dalton Schultz, but Mapu was in good position to break up the pass and his deflection landed in the arms of Marcus Jones. The Patriots have to be encouraged by what they’ve seen from Mapu through two games.
Hunter Henry, TE
Good things seem to happen for the Patriots offense when Henry is involved. Take New England’s second scoring drive for example. The Patriots marched 70 yards in seven plays with Henry accounting for half of those yards on two catches. He got the Patriots into Texans territory with a 30-yard reception before finishing the drive off with a 6-yard touchdown catch. Getting Henry, who had three receptions for 41 yards in the loss, more involved would help out the Patriots offense.
Honorable mention: Marcus Jones, Kayshon Boutte, Drake Maye.
DUDS
Demontrey Jacobs, T
The Patriots offensive line is a liability and it was illustrated Sunday in Jacobs’ poor performance. The right tackle struggled mightily in his third career start and got worked over continuously by Houston’s premier edge rushers.
Jacobs’ day didn’t get off to a good start as he was called for a false start and then was cleanly beat by Will Anderson Jr. in the second quarter for a sack on Drake Maye. Danielle Hunter besting Jacobs on the opening drive of the third quarter almost turned into a disastrous situation for the Patriots. Hunter torched Jacobs before drilling Maye on a strip sack. The lost fumble was made worse with Maye shook up on the play.
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR
The Patriots drafted Polk in the second round in April to be an impact player in the offense. But he was invisible in Maye’s first career start. Polk received just four targets and had one meaningless reception for four yards. Polk also dropped two passes thrown his way.
The biggest issue for the rookie wide receiver is his inability to create separation against defensive backs. They stick to him like glue, making catches much more difficult or forcing the quarterback to turn elsewhere with Polk covered.
Patriots defensive line
The Patriots once again were gashed by an opponent’s rushing attack. A week after the Dolphins ran for 193 yards on the Patriots, the Texans followed it up by running for 192 yards. Houston averaged 6.9 yards per carry to take complete control from the opening drive of the game.
The Patriots surrendered only 116 yards rushing through their first two games of the season but now have allowed four straight games where their opponent ran for a minimum of 130 yards.
Honorable mention: Austin Hooper, Christian Gonzalez, Zach Thomas.
