3:10 4th quarter: Patriots 42, Texans 7—Ryan Mallett threw an interception on his first pass, a ball that was tipped into the air and caught by the Texans’ Shiloh Keo. Mallett had taken over for Tom Brady as the game was out of reach. Brandon Bolden also made an appearance, carrying the ball three times on the short drive.

5:10 4th quarter: Patriots 42, Texans 7—Another four-play drive by the Texans as the Patriots hold Houston to their seventh punt of the game

7:23 4th quarter: Patriots 42, Texans 7—Stevan Ridley broke off a 14-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive that was relatively slow for the Patriots tonight. The drive took 4:24, with the Patriots favoring eight running plays.

11:52 4th quarter: Patriots 35, Texans 7—The Texansran four times in a row, with the Patriots holding them on 3rd-and-1 to force a punt as Houston’s ability to come back and make this game competitive was severely diminished.

14:15 4th quarter: Patriots 35, Texans 7—A nifty catch and run by Danny Woodhead, turned into a miraculous touchdown for Brandon Lloyd. Woodhead had the ball punched out by J.J. Watt as he was running toward the end zone and Lloyd dove on it for a touchdown as the ball bounced forward. It was a 16-yard catch before it was a fumble forced by Watt and a fumble recovery by Lloyd.

End of 3d quarter: Patriots 28, Texans 7—A six-yard run by Tom Brady ends the third quarter with him all pumped up. A short “M-V-P” chant rang out afterward. The Patriots are at the Texans’ 27 to start the fourth.

3:35 3d quarter: Patriots 28, Texans 7—Kyle Arrington broke up a pass to Keshawn Martin as the Patriots held the Texans to a three-and-out

5:18 3d quarter: Patriots 28, Texans 7—Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus sacked Tom Brady for a 5-yard loss on third down. It’s the first sack the Patriots have given up today. The Patriots punted after only three plays.

6:12 3d quarter: Patriots 28, Texans 7—Helped by a pass interference on Kyle Arrington, the Texans finally got on the board after a 7-play, 88-yard drive in 3:37. Arian Foster punched in a touchdown at the goal line. Matt Schaub hit a critical pass to fullback James Casey for 30 yards to get the Texans into the red zone

9:49 3d quarter: Patriots 28, Texans 0—Tom Brady threw a bomb to Donte’ Stallworth and the new (and old) Patriot took it 63 yards for a touchdown.

Stallworth made a play and then dragged Houston’s Quintin Demps the final five yards into the end zone. Talk about making an impact in your first game back with the team after being cut in training camp.

Also of note, Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib has a hip injury. His return to the game is questionable.

11:03 3d quarter: Patriots 21, Texans 0—The Patriots held the Texans to a three-and-out. Matt Schaub hit Andre Johnson for an 8-yard completion on third down, a yard shy of the first down marker. The Patriots stuffed Arian Foster on second down for a 2-yard loss. Brandon Deaderick was credited with the tackle for the loss.

13:13 3d quarter: Patriots 21, Texans 0—Donte’ Stallworth may not be on the same page as Tom Brady yet, despite their history with each other. Brady and Stallworth couldn’t connect on a 3rd-and-8 pass as the Patriots were forced to punt for the fourth possession in a row.

15:00 3d quarter: Patriots 21, Texans 0—The second half is about to get underway with the Patriots receiving the ball. We’ll see if things get more competitive after those first two quarters

End of 2d quarter: Patriots 21, Texans 0—Vince Wilfork has dominated for the Patriots, tallying a sack for 20 yards, a forced fumble, a tackle for a loss, and a pass defensed. He certainly has set the tone for the Patriots.

Along with Devin McCourty, the defense has held up well against the Texans. Houston has gone 2 of 8 on third downs and is 0 for 2 on fourth down attempts.

Meanwhile, Tom Brady is 13 of 19 at half for 165 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Aaron Hernandez twice and Brandon Lloyd for another.

Cornerback Aqib Talib took a bit of a spill, breaking up a pass to Andre Johnson. There’s no word on him yet. He appeared to be favoring his left side