Strong Showing For Patriots Defense In Season Opener

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(Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- DeShaun Watson played in his first game since tearing his right ACL midway through last season, and struggled in a 27-20 Texans loss to the Patriots. Watson went 17 of 35 for 176 yards, a score, and an interception. He was sacked three times and hit a dozen, but also ran for 40 yards on eight attempts.

Pats coach Bill Belichick said the young QB's tough to stop.

"I thought we did some good things," Belichick said. "We certainly played them better than we did last year, not that that can take much. No one guy can stop Watson, so it's gotta be team defense, it's gotta be coverage, it's gotta be pass rush, it's gotta be discipline ... He's a hard guy to stop, Hopkins is a hard guy to stop. They do a good job of the running game. We had our hands full with all those things, but fortunately, we were able to make enough plays to come out on top."

Brady, Gronk Open Season With 27-20 Win Over Texans - Thumbnail Image

Brady, Gronk Open Season With 27-20 Win Over Texans

Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise Junior each had a sack-and-a-half, and their team totaled seven tackles for loss and six pass-deflections. Stephon Gilmore intercepted Watson, and Dont'a Hightower recovered a fumble.

Flowers said it was a good start for the D.

"It was pretty good, I mean, there's obviously a lot we can improve on week-to-week, so we're gonna look at the film, and I feel as though we did an okay job," Flowers said.

Pats at the Jaguars Sunday.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports


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