Patriots: Bill Belichick postgame speech proved he’s proud of win vs Texans

If Bill Belichick came in and completely tore the New England Patriots to shreds after a narrow win against a rebuilding Houston Texans team, no one would’ve said anything to challenge him.

After all, this team looked completely dead for large chunks of that contest.

One week after one of the worst performances you’ll ever see from a quarterback, Davis Mills looked like Warren Moon, chucking the ball deep down the field and helping Houston get out to an early advantage.

Luckily, Mac Jones and the offense helped punch back to avoid a major upset.

Considering that the Patriots were a handful of lucky breaks away from ending up 1-4 with three consecutive losses, one would think that Belichick would be absolutely livid with this team. However, he was supportive and encouraging throughout his postgame speech, perhaps showing that he has changed his tone over the course of this season.

Belichick applauded his team for playing 30 good minutes of football. Rather than focusing on the negatives, he took some time to single out the offensive line, who put together a solid performance against a defensive line with some talent despite so many key members being ruled out.

Bill Belichick was proud that the Patriots came back.

While Jones turned the ball over early in this game and looked generally nervous in that first half, he was able to turn it loose in the second. A 23-of-30 day had Jones completing over 70% of his passes, which is astonishing for a rookie no matter how you look at it.

Some of the new additions helped steer New England to victory. Matt Judon continued his hot start with two sacks, tight end Hunter Henry led the team in receiving yards while catching a touchdown, and Rhamondre Stevenson helped seal the win with some tough running late.

Even Jamie Collins got in on the fun, claiming that even though Houston made more plays, New England won in the only category that matters.

The Patriots have the benefit of playing in a weak division against a discombobulated Dolphins team and a rebuilding Jets squad, meaning that they can’t completely erase thoughts of making it to the playoffs, even with the Bills being as good as they are.

Belichick’s team is a lot younger than some of his championship squads, meaning that he might have to put up with some of these growing pains every now and again. Considering the fact that he often puts on this facade of a grizzled, grouchy old man, it’s nice to see his warmer side on such a young team.

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