New England Patriots: 5 Things to Watch in Matchup Against Houston Texans

#5 Playing Time

The Patriots sat out their starters in the opener, allowing the second and third strings to determine the outcome. While the final score didn’t end up in New England’s favor, there were some noteworthy snap counts.

Offensively, no player was on the field more than wide receiver Austin Carr. The undrafted rookie played 66 of a possible 75 snaps, much higher than the 44 Devin Lucien played. Those two figure to compete for the final WR spot.

The playing time of running back Dion Lewis was somewhat of a surprise. Not necessarily the fact that he played 24 snaps, the most of any RB, but how late into the game he played. There were times in which Lewis was asked to run behind a third-string offensive line.

On defense, cornerback Cyrus Jones was the only defender to play every snap. Bill Belichick gave him every opportunity to succeed. However, Jones was beaten deep on multiple occasions. Jones also saw time at safety, but that was due to injuries at the position rather than the Patriots experimenting.

Next: Derek Rivers out for the season

The starters who take the field against the Jaguars will cut into the snap counts of others at their position, but it will be interesting to see if anyone is given a significantly increased or decreased workload. With the regular season fast approaching, it won’t be long before the Patriots have to cut the roster down to 53 players.