Week 1 Patriots vs Texans: Who gets the game ball for New England’s 27-20 win?

The New England Patriots fought a tough game against the Houston Texans to secure their first victory of the season: the defending AFC champions won 27-20 behind a mostly efficient offense and at times dominant defense. While there were plenty of errors in all three phases of the game, the Patriots move to 1-0 with the following three players particularly standing out:

WR Phillip Dorsett

With Julian Edelman out for the first four weeks, the Patriots’ depth wide receivers were needed to pick up the slack. Phillip Dorsett did just that against the Texans and was New England’s number one wideout in terms of targets and receptions: the former first-round draft pick caught all seven of his targets for 66 yards and his first touchdown since joining the team last year. An encouraging performance.

DE Trey Flowers

The Patriots’ pass rush and front seven defense was inconsistent last season but shined today against a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in Deshaun Watson. Overall, New England registered three sacks with 1.5 of which coming from Trey Flowers. After a quiet training camp, the veteran showed why he is the team’s number one edge defender and pass rusher: Flowers was active all day long and set the tone for the defensive front seven.

TE Rob Gronkowski

Other than his lost fumble on a long reception down the seam, Gronkowski had an outstanding game as a pass catcher and blocker. Despite drawing constant double-team coverage, the NFL’s best tight end – who even played one defensive snap on the final Hail Mary of the game – finished with seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Gronkowski was his usual productive self and a consistent big-play threat.

With all that in mind, who is your choice for this week’s game ball?