New England secured a top spot in the division with a 27:6 victory over Houston in Texas and topped the AFC Conference after both Denver and Cincinnati suffered defeats on Sunday.
The Patriots played much better than in the last two weeks when they recorded a pair of losses. With Rob Gronkowski back in the team, they looked quite different. Gronk scored a touchdown on his comeback, and the defense played magnificently, so the Pats truly deserved the victory. The hosts played horribly and failed to score a TD. Nick Novak’s two field goal kicks weren’t enough to damage the champions, and the passing and running game of the Texans was simply terrible. To make the loss more painful for Houston, their starting quarterback Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion, and he’ll be in the league’s protocol before getting back to the field.
Only resistance from the home side could be seen in the first half. The Pats won in 17:6, but, at least, the Texans moved the ball better than after the interval. Keyshawn Martins scored an opening touchdown in the middle of the first period, and Gronk scored another 15 seconds before the end of the first half. Houston was scoreless in the second half, and New England smartly saved the ball and killed the time to preserve a win. James White scored a last TD of the game to set the final score.
New England is now the main favorite to claim the AFC top while the Texans are still in the playoff contention with the away game at Indianapolis next week. It will probably be a decisive match for them.
New York Giants recorded three straight losses prior to their trip to Miami to face the Dolphins. The G-men took an important 31:24 victory and bounced back to be in a playoff run again with Washington and Philadelphia, who have the same 6-7 record.
It was a balanced game in Miami, and both teams traded the scores in the first three-quarters of the match. The Dolphins led 7:3 after the first period thanks to the Lamar Miller’s touchdown. Rueben Randle scored the first TD for the visitors two minutes into the second quarter, but Miller finds the end zone again, only three minutes after. The Giants tight end, Will Tye, ironically tied the game 45 second before the break. It was 17:17.
Five minutes into the second half, Kenny Stills caught a pass from Tannehill to score a rare touchdown, but the show began when the one of the best wide receivers at the moment took the game in his hands. The last 20 minutes of the game fully belonged to Odell Beckham Jr., who scored a pair of TD’s to bring a much-needed victory to the Giants and revive their playoff hopes.
New York will play against the undefeated Carolina next week at home while Miami will visit the Chargers in San Diego.
