The Houston Texans scored 14 points in the first quarter en route to a big road win over the New England Patriots, 41-21, at Gillette Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Stroud found Tank Dell in the endzone on a two-yard pattern to open the scoring, then exactly six minutes later he hit Joe Mixon as the running back sprinted out to the left to double the Texans' lead.
Mixon was stellar in his return from an ankle injury, scoring twice and topping 100 yards on the ground while adding 30 yards receiving.
Drake Maye, the no. 3 overall pick in the 2024 draft, had a tough first quarter but aired out a pass to Kayshon Boutte in the final seconds of the second frame to get the Patriots on the board. The score was 14-7 at halftime, but Houston made sure the home side didn't take any momentum into the latter half.
Under two minutes into the third quarter, Stroud found Stefon Diggs over the middle for a ten-yard touchdown. Ka'imi Fairbain connected on a pair of fieldgoals about 90 seconds apart to increase the lead to 27-7.
But Maye bounced back, finding Hunter Henry for a 6-yard score after a calm 70-yard drive.
That's when the Texans' running game took over. Mixon cruised for 20 yards to notch a rushing TD, his second TD overall on the day. Maye's response, another 70-yard drive that ended in a 36-yard TD to DeMario Douglas, was quickly canceled out by a stunning 54-yard run by Dameon Pierce that lifted the lead back to 20 points.
While the offense put up 41 points, the Texans defense did some crucial work to put Stroud and company in good field position. Defensive Ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter welcomed Maye to the NFL with four combined sacks and a forced fumble, while the Houston secondary added a pair of picks.
Anderson Jr.'s final line was an impressive three sacks, four tackles for loss, and eight total tackles.
The Texans now travel to Green Bay to face a Packers team coming off a big win over the Arizona Cardinals.
