3 Stats to Know for Patriots' Week 11 Game vs. Texans
The New England Patriots are riding high after an upset against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday. Hopefully, the team will be able to carry some of that momentum as they head to Houston to face the 2-7 Texans.
Although many knew going into this season that the Patriots' success was in question, not many would've guessed that the Texans would have such a poor record. With an all-star quarterback in Deshaun Watson, they will present an offensive challenge.
Here are the three stats to know for Sunday via Next Gen stats and ESPN.
18 Touchdowns
Watson has 18 touchdowns so far this season, although the team's record might not reflect his great performance so far. He currently sits tied for 9th place with Drew Brees for most touchdowns thrown so far. In comparison, Cam Newton only has three. The Patriots actually went on a four-game skid without a passing touchdown before last Sunday, something that will need to continue to be remedied if they want to compete with the Texans offensively.
68.8%
Newton and company had arguably the best game of the season against the Ravens, and so far he has a completion rate of 68.8 percent. This is 6th highest rate in the league. Watson just cracked the top 10 with a 68.1 percent completion rate.
A big key for Patriots success will be if Newton can get into a rhythm and lead the offense on longer drives that result in points on the board. Last Sunday's 23-17 win over Baltimore was a great example of the capability this team has against tough opponents.
Newton will also need to continue to make good decisions. He has a total of seven interceptions on the season so far, whereas Watson has only thrown three.
With two athletic quarterbacks, this game is sure to be an offensive shootout.
121 Yards
This is the season of the running backs for the Patriots, and last game was no different. in Week 10 Damien Harris had another game over 100 yards rushing, with a total of 121. Although he didn't have any touchdowns Sunday night, he was able to keep key drives going and pushed right through the Baltimore defense.
The Patriots will definitely continue to rely on Harris as well as Rex Burkhead in the backfield, especially against Houston's defense, which is one of the worst units against the run in the NFL.
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