Houston 41 New England 21
C.J. Stroud passed for three touchdowns as the Houston Texans ruined the debut of rookie New England quarterback Drake Maye, easily beating the Patriots 41-21 on Sunday. Maye, who was selected third overall in the NFL draft, gave the Patriots (1-5) a bolt of energy in place of veteran Jacoby Brissett. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 38 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked four times. Shortly before halftime, Maye threw a perfect 40-yard touchdown pass to second-year WR Kayshaun Boutte. In the third quarter, Maye threw a 6-yard scoring pass to tight end Hunter Henry, cutting Houston’s lead to 27-14 and tying Brissett’s touchdown amount on the season. Patriots fans should be hopeful as the young player equaled Jacoby in touchdowns in just one game; it took Brissett five games to reach that mark. Maye then found DeMario Douglas for a 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, with Douglas ending the game with six receptions for 92 yards. After sitting out three games due to an ankle injury, Joe Mixon rushed for 102 yards and caught a touchdown pass from Stroud. Stefon Diggs had six receptions for 77 yards for the AFC South-leading Texans (5-1), while Tank Dell had seven catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Dameon Pierce sprinted for a 54-yard touchdown run and finished with 76 yards on eight carries. Will Anderson Jr. achieved a career-high three sacks for Houston, which has now won three straight games.
Detroit 47 Dallas 9
The two Thanksgiving day teams clashed in Dallas as the Lions gave an impressive performance. Goff passed for 315 yards and three touchdowns, while David Montgomery scored two rushing touchdowns, leading Detroit to a dominant 47-9 victory over Dallas on Sunday. This marked the Cowboys’ fourth consecutive significant loss at home. Unfortunately, the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to the Lions’ pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who suffered a severe left tibia injury and required surgery. The injury occurred during a play in the third quarter when Hutchinson was sacking Dak Prescott. Prescott, on the other hand, threw two interceptions in the Cowboys’ worst home loss since 1988. This loss marked the first time since at least 2000 that the Cowboys trailed by 14 or more points at halftime in four consecutive games at their home field, including playoffs. On the Lions’ first play, coach Dan Campbell made a subtle jab at the officials who penalized a potential game-winning 2-point pass in the Lions’ previous 20-19 loss to the Cowboys in December. This time, Dan Skipper was reported as eligible for a standard 5-yard run by Montgomery. Additionally, Sam LaPorta scored a 52-yard touchdown on a trick play, where he was wide open after receiving a pitch from Goff, who in turn had received the ball from Montgomery on a reverse play to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who then passed it back to Goff for the deep throw.
Game of the Week: Buffalo 23 New York Jets 20
Player of the Week: Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay WR Chris Godwin was well deserving of this week’s player of the week, as he led the Buccaneers to a 51-27 victory over the Saints. Godwin had 11 catches on 13 targets, 125 yards, and 2 touchdowns. The game included five touchdown throws, 50 initial downs, close to 900 yards of offense, three rushing touchdowns, five picks, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and a punt return for a touchdown. Chris Godwin’s second touchdown of the game came from a 55-yard play on a brief catch and lengthy run, during which three Saints failed to make tackle attempts.
