For 32 minutes Sunday, the New England Patriots looked worse than they had all season.
There was ugliness in every phase. On offense, they couldn’t hold onto the ball. On defense, they couldn’t stop, of all people, third-string rookie quarterback Davis Mills. They even were missing kicks on special teams.
After a Mac Jones interception on the second snap of the second half and a 37-yard flea-flicker touchdown two plays later, New England trailed 22-9 against a Houston Texans team that almost surely will be picking near the top of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Then, a switch flipped.