Tom Brady passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns including one to Rob Gronkowski Sunday afternoon to lead the New England Patriots past the Houston Texans 27-20 at Gillette Stadium in the teams mutual opener.
New England (1-0) built a 24-6 third quarter lead and held on against the visiting Texans who scored 14 of the games final 17 points. Brady threw a first quarter touchdown to Gronkowski, along with TD hookups to James White and Phillip Dorsett.
Brady went 26-39 passing, along with an interception. Rex Burkhead had 64 rushing on 18 carries to lead the way for the Patriots, while Gronkowski had seven receptions for 123 yards. Dorsett also had seven catches for 66 yards. Stephon Gilmore had eight total tackles to lead the defense. Deshaun Watson went 17-34, 176 yards, with one touchdown and an interception for Houston (0-1). Lamar Miller rushed 20 times for 98 yards, while DeAndre Hopkins caught eight passes for 78 yards. Kareem Jackson led the defense with eight tackles.
New England hits the road next Sunday in an AFC title game rematch at Jacksonville at 4:25. The 1-0 Jaguars opened their season with a 20-15 road win over the New York Giants.
