Featured image courtesy of Kevin Jaira/USA Today Sports. 

By John Sarianides

Game Rewind: The Patriots lost 27-23 to the Texans last night. The starters all played for a quarter plus, including Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski who played in his first pre-season game since 2012.

Here are my thoughts on this game.

1. Brady: Brady made his 2017 debut completing 6 of 9 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown pass to Rex Burkhead. The 40 year old Brady looked good and is already in regular season form. Brady will more than likely play a half next week in Detroit. 

2. Gronk Played? Last night was the first time Rob Gronkowski played in a pre-season game since 2012. I know Belichick wants to see if Gronkowski is healthy but it didn’t make any sense to play him. As I’ve said in the past. Gronk should be in bubble wrap this time of year. 

3. Burkhead Impresses: Burkhead was impressive both as a runner and as a receiver. He ran with good balance and power as a runner. As a receiver, he looked good getting in and out of cuts and catching the football. Burkhead showed an ability to separate on his 22 yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. 

4. Jimmy G Was Average: Garoppolo played well last week considering the fact he was playing with the three’s and four’s. Last night he played with the two’s and three’s and was average. Garoppolo completed 15-23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. He threw a costly interception in the fourth quarter which led to the Texans game winning score. Garoppolo wasn’t bad but he played better last week. 

5. Defense Struggles: The defense continues to struggle. They gave up big plays, continued to take bad angles and missed a bunch of tackles. Even the first team defense struggled, giving up the first score of the game. The Patriots still have a lot of work to do defensively.