TEAM NOTES 

THE PATRIOTS HAVE NINTH SHUTOUT IN THE BILL BELICHICK ERA;26TH SHUTOUT OVERALL
The Patriots shut out Houston 27-0, recording their first shutout since downing the Miami Dolphins 28-0 on Dec. 30, 2012. The shutout is the ninth for the Patriots since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000. New England had three shutouts in 2003, one in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012. It is the 26th shutout in team history. 

PATRIOTS OFF TO 3-0 FOR TENTH TIME IN TEAM HISTORY
The New England Patriots improved to 3-0 with their 27-0 win over Houston. The Patriots are 3-0 for the tenth time in team history, and for the sixth time since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000. The Patriots also started 3-0 in 1964, 1974, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2016 .

PATRIOTS HAVE WON 22 STRAIGHT NON-DIVISION AFC TEAMS AT HOME
The Patriots have won 22 straight home games against non-division AFC opponents. Their last loss to a non-division AFC team was a 33-10 loss vs. Pittsburgh on Nov. 30, 2008. 

PATRIOTS LEAD THE NFL IN FIRST QUARTER POINTS; HAVE NOT SURRENDERED ANY FIRST QUARTER POINTS
The Patriots entered the week with an NFL-leading 24 first quarter points and increased that total to 34 first quarter points with a 10-point first quarter against Houston. The Patriots defense has not allowed any first quarter points in 2016. 

PATRIOTS KNOW HOW TO HOLD THE LEAD AT HOME
The Patriots have won 83 straight home games when leading at halftime, adding to their NFL record. The Patriots were in front, 10-0 against Houston. The last time the Patriots lost at home when leading at halftime was on Dec. 24, 2000, vs. Miami when they lost, 27-24 after leading 21-17 at halftime. 

PATRIOTS HAVE BACK-TO-BACK 100-YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 2012 SEASON
The Patriots had a running back finish with over 100 yards rushing for the second week and RB LeGarrette Blount had 105 yards rushing against Houston. The week before, Blount had 123 yards rushing. It is the first time that a player has rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games since the 2012 season. 

BACK-TO-BACK 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES
09/30/12 at Buffalo – Stevan Ridley (106) Brandon Bolden (137)
10/7/12 vs. Denver –Stevan Ridley (151)

09/18//16 vs. Miami –LeGarrette Blount (123)
09/22/16 vs. Houston – LeGarrette Blount (105)

PATRIOTS REMAIN UNDEFEATED AT HOME AGAINST HOUSTON
The Patriots are now 4-0 all-time in home games against Houston.

THE PATRIOTS FORCED TWO FUMBLES ON HOUSTON KICKOFFS;LEADS TO 14 POINTS
The Patriots forced and recovered two Texans kickoffs deep in Houston territory to lead to 14 points. In The first quarter, RB Brandon Bolden forced a fumble that was recovered by S Duron Harmon at the 22-yard line to set up a touchdown run by QB Jacoby Brissett. In the third quarter, S Nate Ebner forced a fumble that was recovered by s Jordan Richards at the 21-yard line to set up a touchdown run by RB LeGarrette Blount. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES  

BELICHICK TIES CURLY LAMBEAU WITH 226 REGULAR-SEASON WINS *
Bill Belichick now has 226 career regular-season wins to tie Curly Lambeau (226) for fourth place overall. Belichick (249 wins overall) needs one more victory to join Don Shula (347) George Halas (324) and Tome Landry (270) as the only coaches to reach 250 career wins. 
HEAD COACH    CAREER WINS*
Don Shula    328
George Halas    318
Tom Landry    250
Bill Belichick    226
Curly Lambeau    226

UNDER BELICHICK, QUARTERBACKS ARE 6-0 IN FIRST CAREER STARTS
Under head coach Bill Belichick, rookie quarterbacks are now 6-0 in their first career starts after QB Jacoby Brissett picked up a 27-0 win in his first start. 

LEGARRETTE BLOUNT HAS THIRD CAREER BACK-TOBACK 100-YARD GAMES
RB Legarrette Blount gained 105 yards rushing against Houston, a week after gaining 123 yards vs. Miami. It is his 12th NFL 100-yard rushing game in the regular season. He has now rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games three times. 
2010 Tampa Bay
12/19/10 vs. Detroit – 110 yards
12/26/10 vs. Seattle – 164 yards

2011 Tampa Bay
11/20/11 at Green Bay – 107 yards
11/27/11 at Tennessee – 103 yards

2015 Patriots
09/18/16 vs. Miami – 123 yards
09/22/16 vs. Houston – 105 yards

BLOUNT HAS SCORED A TD IN ALL THREE GAMES IN 2016
Blount scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 41-yard run in the fourth quarter. He has scored a rushing touchdown in three straight games, after scoring on an 8-yard run at Arizona and a 9-yard run vs. Miami. It is the first time in his career that he has scored a rushing touchdown in a three-game stretch in the regular season. It is his sixth career game with two or more touchdowns. He had a career-best of three rushing touchdowns vs. Jacksonville on Sept. 27, 2015. His four touchdowns in the first three games ties Marion Butts (1994) and Corey Dillon (2005) for the most for the Patriots in the first three games. 

BLOUNT SCORES ON A 41-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN
Blount scored on a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. It is his fifth run of at least 40 yards and the third longest touchdown run of his career. He had a 54-yard touchdown run at Green Bay On Nov. 20, 2011 and a 47-yard touchdown at Atlanta on Sept. 29, 2013. 

RB BRANDON BOLDEN FORCED THIRD FUMBLE ON A KICKOFF
RB Brandon Bolden forced a fumble on a first quarter kickoff that was recovered by S Duron Harmon at the 22-yard line. It is Bolden's third forced fumble on a kickoff.
He forced a fumble on a kickoff vs. Cincinnati (10/5/14) that was returned 9-yards for a touchdown by DB Kyle Arrington. He also forced a fumble on a kickoff at the New York Giants (11/15/15). 

JACOBY BRISSETT SCORED HIS FIRST TD ON A 27-YARD TD RUN
QB Jacoby Brissett scored his first NFL touchdown on a 27-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. It is the longest run by a Patriots quarterback since Steve Grogan had a 31-yard run vs. the Baltimore Colts on Sept. 18, 1978. It is the longest touchdown run by a Patriots quarterback since Grogan scored on a 41-yard touchdown run vs. the NY Jets on Oct. 18, 1976. 

COLLINS RECORDS INTERCEPTION IN SECOND STRAIGHT GAME;SETS CAREER-HIGH WITH 14 TOTAL TACKLES
LB Jamie Collins picked off a QB Brock Osweiler pass in the second quarter. It was his second straight game with an interception. Collins picked off a QB Ryan Tannehill pass in the second quarter vs. Miami. It is his fifth regular season interception. He has two additional interceptions in the postseason. Collins also finished with an personal-best of 14 total tackles. His previous best was 13 tackles, vs. NY Jets on Oct. 16, 2014 and at Green Bay on Nov. 30, 2014. 

TE MARTELLUS BENNETT HAS FIRST NFL RUSHING ATTEMPT
TE Martellus Bennett was credited with his first NFL rushing attempt on a 6-yard run on an end-around in the second quarter. 

DL JABAAL SHEARD REGISTERS TWO SACK PERFORMANCE; SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR WITH TWO SACKS AGAINST HOUSTON
DL Jabaal Sheard recorded two sacks against Houston. He also had two sacks in the game in 2015 at Houston. It is his fifth NFL two-sack game. In 2015, He had two two-sack games – Oct. 10, 2015 at Dallas and at Houston. 

PUNTER RYAN ALLEN COMES UP BIG WITH 6 PUNTS INSIDE THE 20
P Ryan Allen had six of his seven punts downed inside the 20-yard line and helped hold Houston to no punt return yards. He landed punts at the 11, 10, 10 14, 5 and 4. His only punt that did not land inside the 20, was downed at the 20-yard line. 
11, 10, 10 Ryan's previous best was five punts inside the 20-yard line on Oct. 6, 2013 at Cincinnati. 

2016 THIRD-ROUND PICK QB JACOBY BRISSETT MAKES FIRST NFL START;BECOMES NINTH PATRIOTS QB TO MAKE A START AS A ROOKIE
2016 third-round pick QB Jacoby Brissett made his first NFL start and become the ninth Patriots quarterback to make a start during his rookie season. He finished the game 11-of-19 for 103 yards and also scored on a 27-yard touchdown run. 
ROOKIE QB STARTS FOR PATS
1960 Tom Greene – 2 starts – 1-1 record
1968 Tom Sherman – 7 starts – 1-6 record
1971 Jim Plunkett – 14 starts - 6-8 record
1975 Steve Grogan - 7 starts  - 1-6 record
1983 Tony Eason - 4 starts – 2-2 record
1987 Bon Bleier 2 starts as a strike replacement QB 1-1 record
1990 Tommy Hodson – 6 starts – 0-6 record
1993 Drew Bledsoe – 12 starts – 5-7 record
2016 Jacoby Brissett – 1 start – 1-0 record 

LINEUP NOTES

TE ROB GRONKOWSKI SEES FIRST ACTION OF THE 2016 SEASON
TE Rob Gronkowski returned to action after missing the first two games of the season.