The Texans were able to sack Tom Brady twice on Sunday, and pick him off another time.

Defensive end J.J. Watt hit the New England quarterback a couple times, and was a constant presence in the offensive backfield throughout much of the second half. Houston fell 27-20 to the Patriots, and Watt was disappointed like the rest of his teammates.

"There's no such thing as a moral victory," Watt said. "But it's Game one. We're going to go back and watch the film and learn from it."

Watt played in his first regular season game since Week 5 of last year, when he exited a Sunday Night Football contest against the Chiefs with a leg injury. After, he explained how he felt physically.

"My body feels good," Watt said. "My body feels fine. It feels like I played a full football game. I really started to get lathered up there by the second half and just knocked some of that rust off for a full game and I'm just getting back into a groove. I'm excited to watch the film and learn from it and grow from it."

Brady and the Patriots built a 21-6 halftime advantage, and had success in the first two quarters with quick passes. His exposure to a pass rush was limited, but that changed after the intermission. Watt said he wants to speed up that process.

"I want to build off it," Watt said. "I want to grow. I want to start earlier in the game. I don't want it to start in the second half. I want it to start in the first half."

Texans head coach Bill O'Brien pointed out that Brady's experience, amongst other things, helped keep him relatively clean in the first half.

"He just does a good job getting rid of the ball," O'Brien said. "They max protect. They chip the edge. They do a really good job and he does a good job of understanding who's rushing and knowing that the ball has to come out. We hit him today. He was just able to make some big plays."

Watt and the Texans face the Titans next Sunday in Nashville.