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Instant Analysis from the Patriots 27-20 victory over the Texans The New England Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 27-20 to start the 2018 regular season 1-0. The game wasn’t pretty and there’s a lot for Bill Belichick to evaluate and criticize Red N'Keal Harry Jersey , but the outcome is in the books.Here’s what we learned.Tom Brady still looks greatThe reigning MVP might be 41 years old, but he easily outplayed the 22-year-old on the other sideline. Brady finished the day 26 of 39 (66.7%) for 277 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception for a passer rating of 102.2. That interception was the result of a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage, too, so it wasn’t directly his fault.Brady was efficient and he moved well in the pocket. He spread the ball around with nine players seeing targets and four recorded four or more receptions. There is a glaring concern about the lack of connection between Brady and Chris Hogan (1 catch for 11 yards on 5 targets), but Brady proved that Father Time is going to have to wait a little bit longer.Rob Gronkowski is a beastGronkowski was a huge receiving threat up the seam and picked up 123 yards and a touchdown on 7 receptions. Sure, he fumbled one of his receptions, but not all fumbles are the same and Bill Belichick tends to cut a player some slack if the fumble is the result of a player in transition (like Gronkowski) or where the defender is unseen (like Gronkowski). With Edelman out and Hogan not producing, Gronkowski will need to replicate this production in each of the next three games if the Patriots are going to emerge from the first quarter of the season with a strong record.Phillip Dorsett is more than hypeDorsett was fantastic in his first real game in the spotlight for New England. He collected all 7 of his targets for 66 yards and a touchdown and he was running many of the same routes that Brandin Cooks ran in 2017. While Brady and Dorsett didn’t connect on a deep ball (Dorsett’s long was 14 yards), that can come later and the fact that Dorsett’s producing on short targets is probably a better indicator that the receiver will be a part of the Patriots game plan beyond Edelman’s suspension.I’m going to be the first on the hype train that expects a Dorsett extension by the end of the regular season. There’s no facts or rumors behind this, but it seems like a Patriots thing to do, especially with the Patriots receiving corps lacking any continuity beyond this year.The Patriots pass rush looks fierceTrey Flowers and Deatrich Wise looked outstanding as they picked up 1.5 sacks and 3 quarterback hits, while Adrian Clayborn added 2 quarterback hits of his own. Keionta Davis, as the fourth man in the rotation, hit the quarterback, too. This quartet had an extremely promising first game, especially after how last year’s lack of a pass rush was crucial to the team’s defeat in the Super Bowl.We have to add Lawrence Guy into the mix, too 2019 N'Keal Harry Jersey , because he generated a fair amount of pressure up the middle, too. He was the best defensive tackle on the roster today because... The Patriots interior run defense is concerningMalcom Brown, Danny Shelton, and Adam Butler all had ugly missed tackles against the run on Sunday and the Texans gashed the run defense on a regular basis. This wasn’t an intentional decision to prevent Deshaun Watson from throwing the football, like the choice they’ve made against Peyton Manning in the past. The Texans just had an easy time running the ball up the middle. Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue combined for 124 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, for nearly 5 yards per carry. Deshaun Watson added in 40 yards on 8 carries, too. The Patriots edge defenders did an okay job of stopping runs to the outside, but the consistency at which the Texans gained yards up the gut is concerning.The issue goes beyond the defensive tackles as Ja’Whaun Bentley, Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, and Elandon Roberts didn’t win the necessary battles to stop the rushing attack. The Patriots were really bad against the run in 2017 so any struggles this season should be flagged for concern.NFL Week 5 picks, following a resounding Patriots win over the Colts It’s a little sad that the Patriots-Colts rivalry is no longer what it once was.Back in the mid-2000s, there wasn’t a better rivalry in football. Every time Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — arguably the two greatest quarterbacks ever — would face off in their primes, it was must-see TV. Every single time.But now it’s 2018, and Manning has been retired for a few years. It’s been even longer since he played for the Colts. Brady is still doing his thing at age 41, but there’s no longer a sense of rivalry between these clubs. Indianapolis hasn’t beaten New England since 2009. If it wasn’t for Andrew Luck, the Colts of today would be straddling the border of irrelevancy. Last night was more of the same. The final score of 38-24 indicates that the game was closer than it was, but truth be told, the Colts were never really in it. They never are whenever they are in Foxboro.Meanwhile N'Keal Harry NFL Draft , Brady threw his 500th touchdown pass, and Josh Gordon caught his first-ever touchdown in a Patriots uniform. There were plenty of milestones to go around for this Pats team in Week 5, and now they just need a Miami loss on Sunday to reclaim first place in the AFC East.Now that the Patriots have officially taken care of business this week, let’s plow through the rest of these picks for Week 5鈥?As always, home teams are in caps and lines are courtesy of OddsShark.com)STEELERS (-3) over FalconsHave there been any bigger disappointments through the first four weeks of the season than the Steelers and the Falcons? These are two teams that are supposed to be Super Bowl contenders, and yet neither team is at or above .500 and nobody feels safe betting on them.An interesting fact: Pittsburgh is 0-6 against the spread in its last six home games. And yet, even though they are at home this week and have looked super shaky in their first four games, they still feel like the safer pick in this game. This has been a weird season.BROWNS (+3) over RavensEven though the Browns turned the ball over four times against the Raiders last week, Baker Mayfield makes me feel a little bit less like a moron whenever I pick the Browns. After all, despite their 1-2-1 record, they are 3-1 against the spread this season. I’ll probably regret, but I’m going all in on Cleveland this week.There’s something I never thought I would say.JETS (-1) over BroncosI’m backing the Jets here only because they are at home and because the Broncos are playing on short rest following their Monday night game against Kansas City last week. That’s literally the only reason.Packers (-1.5) over LIONSGetting throttled by this Lions team in Week 3 will hopefully be the most embarrassing moment of the 2018 Pats season. God help us if something more embarrassing than that happens.Jaguars (+3) over CHIEFSThis is the most must-watch game of the week. It’s the NFL’s No. 1 offense against the NFL’s No. 1 defense.It will be tough for the Jags to beat this undefeated Chiefs team on the road without Leonard Fournette, but with that defense, they sure can make it a close game. Hopefully the Jacksonville defense can rough up Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill a little bit before they come to New England next Sunday.BENGALS (-6) over DolphinsAs mentioned earlier, a Bengals victory here puts the Patriots in first place. After putting up 37 points in Atlanta last week, they shouldn’t have much trouble getting it done at home against the Dolphins this week.PANTHERS (-6) over GiantsThe key to a Giants victory is to get Saquon Barkley going off to the races. While the rookie running back has an extremely bright future in the NFL, he still has plenty of work to do Color Rush Jarrett Stidham Jersey , and this Giants team has a long way to go. They have no momentum after getting smacked by the Saints 33-18 last week.Meanwhile, the Panthers are coming off a bye week. They are fully rested and they are at home. I’m taking Carolina to win and cover.Titans (-5) over BILLSStay away from this Bills team. Don’t bet on them and don’t bet against them. One week, they brutalize the Vikings as 17-point underdogs. The very next week, they can’t even crack the scoreboard against the Packers. I’m warning you, just stay away from this game. Just keep on walking. Don’t even look at it.As for making a pick against the spread鈥?well鈥?the Titans are obviously the better team, so we’ll just go with them.Raiders (+5) over CHARGERSCongrats to Jon Gruden on finally getting the first win of his second tenure in Oakland. Way to go, Jon, you beat the Browns!All jokes aside, the Raiders’ offense, with Marshawn Lynch and all, can be dangerous as long their defense doesn’t blow games for them. But if they can’t get a win this week, then Oakland fans can probably just pack it in for the season.Alright, you’re probably tired of my constant yapping. I’ll zip through these last few picks and then you can be on your way.Cardinals (+4) over 49ERSThe dreadful Cards can take advantage of an injury-plagued Niners team.Rams (-7) over SEAHAWKSRams all day, every day.EAGLES (-3) over VikingsCarson Wentz is due for a monster game.Cowboys (+3) over TEXANSIt’s the battle for Texas. This game could actually be pretty entertaining.Redskins (+6.5) over SAINTSThis is bold, but you have to live life on the edge sometimes.Last week’s record: 5-8-2This week’s record: 1-0Season record: 31-30-3