New England Patriots: 4 player grades from Preseason Week 2

We assign post-game player grades to four New England Patriots following their preseason loss to the Texans.

The New England Patriots returned to NRG Stadium for the first time since Super Bowl LI for their second preseason game of 2017. The Patriots posted 339 total yards, two receiving touchdowns, and three field goals against the Houston Texans, but ultimately lost the contest, 27-23.

A handful of New England’s players saw their stock fluctuate in the loss, for better and for worse. The team forfeited three turnovers, including two lost fumbles and one interception. In addition, New England surrendered six penalties.

The Patriots will have plenty of areas to improve on before traveling to Detroit for their Week 3 preseason game versus the Lions, on Friday.

As for now, these are four player grades from Saturday’s game.

On Saturday night, for the first time since he was drafted, New England Patriots fans saw the Cyrus Jones they’ve been waiting for. The electric college return man brought back three punts for over 10-yards including one for 32-yards.

On defense, Jones bounced back from a poor showing versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, allowing one catch for three yards on two targets, according to NESN’s Doug Kyed.

One of Jones’ less exciting moments of the night was his missed tackle on Texans running back D’Onta Foreman’s leading to a 63-yard catch and run.

Following the game, head coach Bill Belichick praised the second-year cornerback:

"“I thought Cyrus did a good job in the return game, both punts and kickoffs. He ran hard, ran aggressively, made good decisions, with and without the ball.”"

Jones’ intriguing performance will silence his critics and surely increase his odds at making New England’s 53-man roster.