Infographic: How the Patriots lost two in a row ... and why Houston could be a problem

ByPAUL WALLEN AND LUKE KNOX, ESPN.COM
December 10, 2015, 2:06 PM

— -- The New England Patriots went from a perfect 10 to a struggling NFL franchise over the past two weeks, losing two games in a row for the first time since Weeks 2 and 3 of 2012. A confluence of events (rash of injuries, offensive line changes among them) took the Patriots from a 10-0 start to a 10-2 record, and things don't get much easier against the Houston Texans this weekend. Here's what got New England in this situation:

Injuries hit Pats hard

The Patriots have 11 offensive players (that includes all positions) on injured reserve, tied with the Ravens for the most in the NFL. Compare New England's total to the other teams with double-digit wins right now and it's a stark contrast:

Inexperience, movement on offensive line

The Patriots have struggled to find continuity with injuries, especially on the offensive line where they've lost Nate Solder and Ryan Wendell. They have used 12 offensive linemen this season, most in the NFL. As a result of the shuffling, the Patriots have logged 1,497 offensive snaps from rookie linemen, most in the NFL.

Pressure on Brady

For Tom Brady, the amount of pressure from opposing defenses has increased in the past three games (he was under duress 13.7 times per game, including 16 in the loss to the Eagles). This season is his highest in recent years in terms of duress per game:

Targets missing

When Brady does avoid the rush enough to throw, his options have become limited. The losses of tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman to injuries took away a huge chunk of the team's production and put pressure on the rest of the receiving corps to shoulder the burden. A look at how all other Patriots receivers compare to Gronkowski and Edelman this season:

Improvement for Texans

The Patriots offense faces a resurgent defense this week in Houston. Since a 2-5 start, the Texans have shown drastic improvement on the defensive side of the ball to go 4-1 in their last five games. They went from 28th in points allowed per game and 21st in sack percentage to first and second in those categories:

Watt being disruptive

Despite a slow start, Houston defensive end J.J. Watt is once again a force and requires attention from New England throughout the game. He leads the NFL in disrupted drop backs (sacks + batted balls + passes defended + interceptions) at 19.5. It's a metric in which he has been dominant:

A history of bouncing back

It could be a tough week for the Texans, even with their improving defense. The Patriots have a habit of making a statement after losing consecutive games in the Belichick-Brady era. Since 2003, the Patriots have experienced four 2-game losing streaks and responded by winning the next game each time:

Statistics provided by ESPN Stats & Info.