Texans' 0-4 start could end playoff hopes; Patriots soar with Maye's breakout
A pair of reigning AFC playoff teams needed to get off the mat in Week 4, and the separation between them was stark. The New England Patriots upset the Buffalo Bills 29-26, while the Houston Texans fell to 0-4, continuing a miserable start to their season, per www.cbssports.com.
The Texans are the team the Patriots beat in last year's divisional round, making the contrast even sharper. New England took down the conference's best team for a get-right win; Houston suffered the kind of loss that could effectively end its hunt for a return to the postseason.
That dichotomy underscores how high the stakes are as the 2026 season enters its first month. This is one of those weeks when the NFL learns which teams are for real and which are bound to compete at the bottom of the league ladder, according to www.cbssports.com. The separation built between Super Bowl hopefuls and No. 1 draft pick contenders on Sunday was eye-opening.
Week 4 has also been a brutal one from an injury standpoint. Players get hurt every week, but the name value of those who dropped out of action this weekend was as significant as that of any of the previous three slates of games.
MAYE REBOUNDS
There might have been no bigger disappointment across the NFL through three games than Drake Maye, whose regression from MVP runner-up to the league's second-worst quarterback by passer rating was a puzzling fall from grace, per www.cbssports.com.
The 2025 version of Maye reappeared in the New England Patriots' 29-26 upset of the Buffalo Bills.
He passed for 269 yards and three touchdowns and led the Patriots in rushing with another 54 yards, according to www.cbssports.com.
Maye spread the ball around to seven receivers on Sunday, tossing a pair of touchdowns to Romeo Doubs. Efton Chism III added a one-handed catch for what proved to be the game-winning score.
Losing A.J. Brown to a high ankle sprain in Week 1 seemed to throw Maye off, per www.cbssports.com. Brown's return is near, but importantly, Maye might have finally found a groove with his other targets.
This should be a major confidence builder for a quarterback who could not get out of his own way to begin the year.
Maye's rounding into form is a crucial development for a Patriots team that could have ill-afforded to drop into a 1-3 hole. Getting up off the mat on the heels of a blowout loss was important, and doing it against the Bills was a best-case scenario, considering Buffalo is arguably the best team in the NFL and the Patriots' stiffest AFC East competition.
TEXANS' SLIDE
The Houston Texans fell to 0-4 with the loss, continuing a miserable start to the season, per www.cbssports.com. The specific opponent and score of their Week 4 defeat are not in the source.
The loss could effectively end their hunt for a return to the postseason, according to www.cbssports.com. That is a steep fall for a team that reversed course last year to reach the playoffs, the site noted.
The source text cuts off mid-sentence about the Texans' reversal, so full details of their Week 4 loss are not available. What is clear is the stakes: a team that was in the divisional round a year ago now sits winless through the season's first month.
For a franchise that spent last season proving it belonged among the AFC's contenders, 0-4 is not just a slow start. It is the kind of hole that, per www.cbssports.com, typically separates Super Bowl hopefuls from teams competing at the bottom of the league ladder.
INJURY TOLL
Week 4 has been a brutal one from an injury standpoint, and the name value of those who dropped out this weekend was as significant as any of the previous three slates, per www.cbssports.com. Specific injuries to other players this week are not detailed in the source, but the toll was unmistakable across the league.
For the Patriots, the most consequential injury was A.J. Brown's high ankle sprain, suffered in Week 1. According to www.cbssports.com, losing Brown seemed to throw Drake Maye off — his regression from MVP runner-up to the league's second-worst quarterback by passer rating was a puzzling fall. His return is near, the site reported.
That timing matters because the Patriots could have ill-afforded to drop into a 1-3 hole, www.cbssports.com noted. Getting up off the mat after a blowout loss was important, and doing it against Buffalo was a best-case scenario — the Bills are arguably the best team in the NFL and the Patriots' stiffest AFC East competition, the site said.
The stakes were simple: a loss here would have buried New England near the bottom of the division. Instead, Maye found a groove with his other targets, spreading the ball to seven receivers. Brown's return could further boost that offense, but the win buys the Patriots time to integrate him back.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
A.J. Brown's return is near, per www.cbssports.com, and the timing could not be much better for the Patriots. Maye has found a groove with his other targets, spreading the ball to seven receivers in the win over Buffalo. Adding Brown back into that mix could push the offense to another level.
Maye's rounding into form is a crucial development for a Patriots team that could have ill-afforded to drop into a 1-3 hole, the site reported. The win over the Bills buys New England time to integrate Brown carefully rather than rushing him back.
For the Texans, the picture is far bleaker. At 0-4, they face a critical stretch to keep any playoff hopes alive, according to www.cbssports.com. Their next opponent is not in the source, and neither is the Patriots' next game, so the exact schedule remains unknown.
What is clear from Week 4 is the separation between Super Bowl hopefuls and No. 1 draft pick contenders was eye-opening, per www.cbssports.com. The Patriots looked like the former; the Texans increasingly resemble the latter. The coming weeks will show whether that gap is real or just a single Sunday's illusion.
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