Houston Texans run all over Patriots in Joe Mixon’s return

Ding dong the New England dynasty is dead.

It was surely a sign of the times that Joe Mixon, sporting his newly redesigned Houston Texans uniform ran the ball over, around and through the throwback adorned New England Patriots yesterday. It’s obvious the Pats are no longer the top dog in the AFC. Better yet, the Texans are reaching for that brass ring.

Based on last week’s poll, 39% of Texans fans believe the team is the clear #2 contender in the AFC. After yesterday’s 41-21 blowout, it’s hard to argue with those true believers.

Granted the current version of the Patriots has more in common with Monty Python than the Belichick/Brady era team. But, an NFL team is still an NFL team.

The unexpected return of Joe Mixon from injury had a lot to do with the blowout. Mixon had a 59-yard burner, a 20-yard score and ended the day with 102 rushing yards, a 7.8 yard per carry average and 2 touchdowns.

After Mixon turned Gillette Stadium into his own personal Pro Day, Dameon Pierce grabbed the ball and broke a 54-yard score, ending with 76 yards and a 9.5 yard per carry average.

Bask in that for a moment:

Joe Mixon yards per carry average 7.8

Dameon Pierce yard per carry average 9.5

While New England managed to limit the Nico Collins-less Texans passing game to only 192 air yards, they gave up the same on the ground. When you remove the lost yards due to sacks, Houston accrued more rushing yards than passing.

Now, if they can continue to build on that…

ESPN.com

Can the Texans carry this momentum into next week? The Texans never looked back after a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The 41 points scored by C.J. Stroud and the offense is their most in a regular-season game since Week 16 of 2021. The defense was also rolling, forcing a season-high four turnovers. If Houston can carry this momentum on both sides of the ball into its matchup against the 4-2 Green Bay Packers, it has the chance to be 6-1 and build a big lead in the AFC South.

Most surprising performance: Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. was all over the field with three sacks, three pressures and a pass deflection that turned into an interception. The third overall pick in the 2023 draft had not recorded more than 1.5 sacks in a game this season.

Eye-popping stat: Running back Joe Mixon had 55 rushing yards over expectation, which is the most by a Texans running back this season (NFL Next Gen Stats). He turned in a strong performance after missing the past three weeks with an ankle injury. — DJ Bien-Aime

Next game: at Packers (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)

Welcome back Joe, your productivity was surely missed.

For Texans nation: Bask in the glow of this awesome win. Laugh at the cries of the Cowboys fans. Savor every moment of yesterday – then remember there’s more work yet to be done.

“First time with a win here – everybody gets a game ball!” #InDeMecoWeTrust

It’s hard to comprehend the Texans had never won in Gillette Stadium until yesterday. Probably because I’ve blocked all those losses out of my memory. But, no more.

41-21 Texans win!