Patriots Lose Finale, And Welker

Posted by Adam Hart January 3, 2010 at 5:49 pm

Those in favor of resting a team’s starters in a so-called meaningless game at season’s end received the exclamation point to their argument on Sunday — New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker left the team’s Week 17 game in Houston after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter.

New England, which already qualified for the playoffs, lost the game 34-27 on two unanswered Texans touchdowns with under five minutes to play. The Patriots finish the regular season 10-6, a record one game worse than the 2008 campaign, in which the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The injury came when Welker tried to make an up-field cut on a reception and his left foot appeared to catch on the natural grass field. The team leader in receptions immediately grabbed his knee and was eventually helped off the field by team medical personnel. He sat on the bench with a towel over his face for some time before being carted off the field.

It would appear, based on his emotional reaction on the sideline, that Welker will miss a substantial amount of time. But that is clearly speculative, as no immediate announcement regarding his condition was made during the game.

It was eerie timing for such an injury, after week-long debate about Indianapolis’ decision to pull its starters while leading its Week 16 game against the New York Jets, only to see that lead and the hopes for a perfect season slip away.

New England’s offense performed admirably after Welker’s departure, led by rookie Julian Edelman’s 10 receptions for 103 yards.

Quarterback Tom Brady was 17-of-26 passing for 186 yards and zero touchdowns. He threw a fourth-quarter interception on his final drive of the game. Undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer looked sharp in Brady’s stead, completing 8-of-12 passes for 71 yards. He fell short on a potential game-tying drive in the final minute of play.

While running back Fred Taylor only rushed for 33 yards on 7 carries, he scored twice — 4- and 11-yard runs, respectively.

Rookie cornerback Darius Butler picked off a Matt Schaub pass and ran it back 91 yards for his first NFL touchdown. It was the second interception of the second round pick’s career.  For the record, I had Butler landing with the Patriots in each of my three 2009 NFL Mock Drafts.