C.J. Stroud threw three touchdown passes, helping the Houston Texans defeat rookie quarterback Drake Maye and the New England Patriots 41-21 on Sunday.
Joe Mixon, back from an ankle injury, rushed for 102 yards and caught a touchdown pass from Stroud. “He’s got a great feel for the game and has great vision,” Stroud said.
Stefon Diggs had six catches for 77 yards and a score for the Texans, who lead the AFC South with a record of 5-1. Tank Dell also contributed with seven receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Dameon Pierce had a big 54-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, finishing with 76 yards on eight carries. Will Anderson Jr. shined on defense with three sacks, helping Houston win their third consecutive game.
“You’ve got to keep chopping and going and keep getting better,” Anderson said. “I have to give credit to the defensive linemen. Those guys are tremendous in what they do. I love those guys.”
The Patriots, now at 1-5, saw some promise in Maye, the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft. In his first game, he completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns.
He also ran for 38 yards but was intercepted twice and sacked four times, with one sack causing a fumble that led to a Texans touchdown.
After sacking Caleb Williams seven times last week, the Texans quickly pressured Maye. The Patriots went three-and-out on their first possession, and Maye was intercepted early on. New England committed four turnovers in total and has now lost five straight games, falling to 0-3 at home this season.
“The thing about this team is taking the ball away,” Anderson said. “If you get a lot of turnovers, you win the game.”
Maye threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Kayshaun Boutte just before halftime. He matched the two touchdown passes thrown by Brissett in his five games by finding tight end Hunter Henry for a 6-yard score in the third quarter, making the score 27-14.
In the fourth quarter, Maye connected with DeMario Douglas for a 35-yard touchdown. Douglas finished with six catches for 92 yards.
“I thought he showed a lot of poise. I thought he went out there and controlled the huddle, got those guys out of the huddle and once again, made some plays. It’s definitely encouraging,” said Patriots coach Jerod Mayo.
“From a team-wide perspective right now, we let him down. It was his first game, and I feel like I let him down. I’m sure all the coaches feel like we let everyone down. We’ve just got to be better.”
Both teams were missing key offensive players. The Texans placed their top receiver, Nico Collins, on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, while the Patriots were without running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who has a foot injury.
Stroud finished 20 of 31 for 192 yards, with one interception. “We knew that we needed everyone to step up. Once everyone took on that challenge, we started rolling,” Stroud said. “We couldn’t feel bad about Nico not being there. We had to pick up the slack.”
