The Patriots vs. Texans game is underway, and the New England defense is not doing the team any favors with their continued mistakes benefitting their opponents. The team isn't expected to have a great showing against a good Houston team, but the way this game has started is looking like it'll be much worse than imagined.
Besides the overwhelming drowning of boos after Drake Maye's first series being called so conservatively, the defense made C.J. Stroud's first drive much easier by awarding the Texans' offense with game-extending penalties on third down.
That led to a touchdown to put the Patriots in the hole 7-0, followed by another third down penalty to extend their drive on the following series, ending with a score.
Patriots now up to four drive-extending third-down penalties in the last three quarters. Those drives produced three TDs and a field goal.
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) October 13, 2024
Continuing to beat themselves.
It's the beginning of an ugly trend that the Patriots defense has not been known for over the last few years, and it points to just how much they are missing Christian Barmore, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Matthew Judon, and Jabrill Peppers.
Fortunately, Barmore might return this season, which is significant given their defensive struggles, but that's the only good part of all the missing players. Bentley is done for the year, Judon is with the Falcons, and Peppers is on the Commissioner's Exempt List with no end in sight.
The rest of the season is unlikely to get much better unless they can magically turn things around at this point. While that's certainly possible, we haven't seen much to prove that can actually happen.