Finally, the Patriots allowed explosive runs of 59, 54 and 20 yards. The play that hurt the Pats the most on the ground was a Wham scheme, where blocking allows the defensive line to initially get upfield unblocked and then blocks them at an angle to destroy the defense.

After the game, head coach Jerod Mayo reiterated Godchaux’s frustration with his defense’s self-inflicted wounds, particularly their running fits and missed tackles.

“Defensively, I would say we just need to improve on the basics of tackling and our running pass,” Mayo said. “If you take away those two long runs, we had two 50-yard runs. That’s just not winning football.”

The Patriots offense took a step forward this week. However, the Pats defense needs to find its form to get things moving in the right direction.

4. The line of attack continues to run through bodies in the middle and is attacked

During the week of practice, starter Nick Leverett was limited in participation due to an ankle injury, and reporters saw backup Ben Brown taking reps with the starters on Friday.

After speaking with Brown and Leverett after Sunday’s game, it appeared Leverett was made a game-time decision due to his ankle injury that ultimately kept him out of the lineup. Brown told Patriots.com he didn’t find out for sure he would start until Sunday morning. Despite only two practices, Brown made all of the line calls, which is extremely impressive considering how little experience he has in New England’s offensive system after being added to the roster on Wednesday.

To make matters even more difficult, starting left tackle Vederian Lowe left the game after just ten snaps and did not return due to an ankle injury. Lowe, the Pats’ best pass blocker, was replaced by backup T/G Zach Thomas. At one point, the O-line looked like this: LT Thomas (waiver claim), LG Jordan (started season on practice squad), C Brown (signed Wednesday), RG Onwenu (only permanent starter) and RT Jacobs (waiver claim). ).

According to NextGen Stats, Maye was pressured on a relatively high 47.6% of his dropbacks with a bitz rate of 31%. In terms of rushing pressure, here were the numbers from NGS: RT Trey Jacobs (three, two sacks), LG Michael Jordan (two), LT Thomas (two, two sacks), Brown (two) and starting right guard Mike Onwenu allowed printing too quickly.

With numerous backups on offense, the Patriots’ running backs managed just 44 rushing yards on 21 attempts with a total of seven yards. Without lead back Rhamondre Stevenson, the run game only managed four successful runs with six stuffs by the backs.

At this point, the attrition this group has endured is pretty crazy. The Patriots can’t keep their starting lineup healthy, which leads to a lot of blocking issues.

5. Highlighting OC Alex Van Pelt’s play call for rookie QB Drake Maye

Another aspect of Maye taking over as the starter is the way Van Pelt will build the offense around the third-place player’s abilities. As with any first-round quarterback, it is the coordinator’s responsibility to adapt to Maye’s strengths, as seen in Washington, Chicago and Denver.

We saw some of that on Sunday. The Pats were under center on just 19% of their offensive plays. Through the first five weeks, they ranked eighth with an under-center rate of 38%. In addition to playing more from the gun, we also saw a higher RPO/play-action rate (18.9%), and the Pats really seemed to be spamming crossers and vertical routes so Maye could attack man coverage .

It was an interesting start with back-to-back running plays where Maye’s first pass attempt was a third-and-9. Van Pelt came back for a boot-action layup to get Maye going for the second drive, which is what we expected. Finally, RT Trey Jacobs was on an island on 90.5% of his pass-blocking snaps, while Thomas blocked on 80% of his 1-on-1 pass plays.

If the Patriots continue to work with third-line tackles, Van Pelt could plan for more help for Jacobs and Thomas. Texas edge rushers Will Anderson (three sacks, five pressures) and Danielle Hunter (strip sack, three hurries) were doubled just four times combined.

6. WRs DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte register first career touchdowns

Another positive for the Patriots’ offense was WR DeMario Douglas catching a career-high 92 yards on six catches and scoring his first career touchdown. Douglas was the Pats’ best receiver-versus-man coverage, and Pop did it again with three catches for 59 yards against man. Boutte also showed excellent long-range speed when he separated from Texas CB Derek Stingley late on a 40-yard touchdown as both second-year wideouts found pay dirt for the first time in the NFL.

7. Pass defense can build on keeping Texans in check on third down (4-11)

There were some positive aspects throughout the game. Mainly the Pats ran a few good simulated pressures in the third period that went home, with LB/S Marte Mapu getting through the line unblocked in the second quarter and scoring a sack that saw good man coverage in the second quarter. The Pats went for more man coverage with their third-down pressure package, a Belichick staple, and the results were better than the zone pressure they used earlier in the season.