3 Takeaways from Patriots' Week 5 Win
After an emotionally draining loss to former quarterback Tom Brady in Week 4, the New England Patriots were a little off on Sunday. New England was flat early against the one-win Houston Texans and needed to stage a fourth-quarter comeback to walk away victorious.
The Patriots did win, though, which keeps their playoff dreams alive. At 2-3, New England isn't likely to challenge the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East—Buffalo made a statement during its 38-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs—but it can hold out hope for a wild-card berth.
As things stand, the Patriots are a flawed team, but they appear to be trending in a positive direction. On Sunday, they proved that they can beat the teams they're supposed to beat, which is the first step to a successful campaign.
Here's what else we learned during New England's 25-22 win over the Texans.
Mac Jones Is Quickly Learning What It Takes to Win
In Week 4, Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones showed that he isn't afraid of the big stage. He outdueled future Hall of Famer Tom Brady for most of the heavily hyped Sunday Night Football matchup and only fell short when Nick Folk's 56-yard attempt hit the upright near the end of regulation.
On Sunday, Jones showed that he can bounce back and lead New England in critical situations. Though he was far from perfect—he finished 23-of-30 for 231 yards with a touchdown and an interception—Jones was calm and composed on New England's final two drives.
Jones engineered a 13-play, 54-yard touchdown drive to tie the game early in the final frame. On the next drive, he helped bleed seven minutes off the clock while setting up Folk for the game-winner with 15 seconds remaining. He was helped by a roughing-the-passer penalty on a key 3rd-and-18 incompletion, but Jones was nevertheless impressive.
New England can add smart clock management and situational awareness to Jones' growing list of impressive traits, as both helped the Alabama product pick up his second win as a pro. Jones is playing more like a seasoned vet than a rookie at this point, and his future appears extremely bright.
The Patriots Can't Expect to Win with Defense Alone
Jones is going to have to continue playing well if the Patriots are going to make a playoff push. While the defense has flashed its potential at times this season—it did a great job of flustering Brady in Week 4—it is not a shutdown unit.
The Patriots rank fifth in total defense and fifth in points allowed, but they showed Sunday that the unit is still coming together. Texans rookie quarterback Davis Mills picked apart the secondary, finishing 21-of-29 for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Mills had an 87-yard, four-interception performance the week prior against Buffalo.
In all, the Texans produced 360 yards of offense and almost enough to pull off the upset. New England's disappointing day on defense came on the heels of the team's trade of star cornerback Stephon Gilmore—who was on the physically unable to perform list—that isn't exactly the best look for fans.
New England's defense is solid, but it isn't going to win games on its own. The Patriots will need to play complementary football to win consistently this season.
The Signing of Matt Judon Is Paying Big Dividends
I'll admit that I was skeptical of New England giving a four-year, $54.5 million free-agent deal to pass-rusher Matt Judon this offseason. That's a lot of money for a 29-year-old who has never produced double-digit sacks in a season and is joining a team not built to contend for a championship right away.
However, Judon has been nothing short of special during his early time in New England. The former Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowler had yet another strong performance against Houston, finishing with two sacks, a fumble recovery and three quarterback hits.
On the season, Judon has racked up 6.5 sacks and 11 quarterback pressures and is tied for the league lead in tackles for loss (eight). He's tied in sacks with Haason Reddick and trails only Myles Garrett (7.0) for the league lead.
While the Patriots' free-agent spending spree hasn't yielded a dominant roster, the signing of Judon continues to look smarter with each passing game. New England has a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate on its hands.
Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference.