Turnovers rub defense wrong way

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. - Put a wall at the 30-yard line of Gillette Stadium, and Texans defenders would have had their backs against it Sunday.

The entire game.

It seems every time the New England Patriots took possession of the ball, they were already in field-goal range. Seven times in all, the Patriots started on the visitors' end of the field, leading to 26 points in a 40-7 rout.

So when the Texans look at their defensive numbers — only 230 yards allowed and just 125 passing — they can be proud but hardly pleased.

The Texans' offense never gave the defense a chance, committing four turnovers and seeing another possession end at the Houston 42 after a fake punt failed.

"The defense played great," Texans quarterback David Carr said. "None of those points are on them. We put them in some terrible positions."

The Patriots began scoring drives at the Texans' 42-, 24-, 44-, 31-, 29-, and 5-yard lines. And things could have been worse than a 33-point drubbing.

Playing for pride

The Texans held New England to field goals on the four drives started closest to their end zone. And the Texans forced a punt on a Patriots drive that began at the Texans' 34-yard line.

"I thought they played their hearts out," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of the defense. "They were put in a horrible position in the first half. They were doing everything they could to keep it from getting away. They played their hearts out ... showed a lot of pride."

Pride is about all they have to show from an effort in which they limited Tom Brady to 109 yards passing and Corey Dillon to 61 yards rushing.

"It's good that we did that, but we didn't get the 'W,' " said linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who had his fourth straight game with a double-digit tackle total (10). "It doesn't matter how the numbers look; it's about the 'W' and the 'L.' We got the 'L.' " READ MORE

Ryans has legitimate Pro Bowl hopes

Next to wide receiver Andre Johnson, rookie middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans is probably Houston's next best candidate to make the Pro Bowl.

"Everybody wants to go to Hawaii, go to the Pro Bowl, be cited as one of the best NFL players for the year," Ryans said. "Of course it's a goal."

Ryans, the second-round draft pick out of Alabama, won the starting job in camp and leads the Texans in tackles with 127. Outside linebacker Morlon Greenwood is a distant second with 85.

Ryans played games in Hawaii during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 21-15 in 2002 and lost 37-29 in 2003.

"My first two years of college we were on probation, so we didn't have bowl games," Ryans said. "It was fun, a long plane ride. Once we got over there and got settled in, we had a lot of fun."

The Texans chose Ryans 33rd overall, but he has played more like the No. 1 overall pick than Texans defensive end Mario Williams.

Ryans said he was disappointed to see his former coach, Mike Shula, fired at Alabama, which has yet to hire a replacement.

"It's a tough place to play, a tough place to coach," Ryans said. "You're not expected to have a down year. With the fans and media down there, it's crazy. All you hear about is the 12 national titles and Bear Bryant."