All eyes might have been on new franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud as his Houston Texans visited the New England Patriots on Thursday night.
But another Texans rookie dazzled as wide receiver Tank Dell had five receptions for 65 yards and an incredible touchdown to help lead the Texans to a 20-9 preseason victory at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Dell's bobbling, circus TD reception came in the second quarter, as a pass from backup quarterback Davis Mills slipped out of his hands only for him to show enough concentration to gather the ball from his back for an unbelievable score.
That made the score 7-3 and the Texans would notch a touchdown in the third and fourth quarter en-route to the comfortable win, despite of Stroud's rough first start. After completing his first NFL pass, the second-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft was sacked and had his second pass intercepted.
Despite the loss, the Patriots had solid contributions from rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham, who led the team on a 14-play drive for 75 yards during the fourth quarter, ending it on a nine-yard rushing touchdown in which he evaded two tackles to punch it into the end zone.
Patriots rookie defensive end Keion White also looked sharp to the ball with three tackles.
Here's how the entire game went: