PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Hill's solid effort marred by injury

FOXBORO - It didn’t take long for Jeremy Hill to make an impact in his first regular-season game with the Patriots.

Unfortunately, in the third quarter of his team’s 27-20 season-opening victory over the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, fullback James Develin made an impact on Hill.

“He made a big-time play,” special teams captain Matthew Slater said of Hill’s partial block of a punt by the Texans’ Trevor Daniel, a 30-yarder that allowed the Patriots to take possession at their own 22, leading to Phillip Dorsett’s 4-yard touchdown reception with 14 seconds left in the second quarter and a 21-6 halftime lead. “He’s been a great addition to the team.

“His buy-in, his attitude have been tremendous. You take a guy who’s had I don’t know how many touchdowns and run all over with the ball (earlier in his career with Cincinnati) and he’s buying in and playing in the kicking game (in his first year in New England), I think that says a lot about him. So we’re going to be praying for him and hoping for the best when it comes to his injury.”

Hill’s injury occurred early in the third quarter as he attempted to chase down Tyrann Mathieu after the Texans safety scooped up a fumble by tight end Rob Gronkowski, the running back’s right knee buckling when he got hit by teammate James Develin.

With that, Hill exited the game, his day concluding with four carries for 25 yards (a 6.3-yard average), one reception for 6 yards and the deflected punt.

“That’s incredibly unfortunate,” said Develin, “but we’ve just got to keep pressing on and just try to work as hard as we can and just play hard in his honor.”

McCarron's 'stupid play': Wide receiver-returner Riley McCarron made no excuses for his fourth-quarter muff of a punt at his own 17 (recovered by former Patriot Johnson Bademosi) that led to the Texans' touchdown that pulled them to within 27-20 with 2:08 to play in the game.

"I made a stupid play," said McCarron, who was just promoted off the practice squad on Thursday. "I should have handled the ball. It's as simple as that. I didn't make the decision on a fair catch obviously, but I know the one I should have made now."

Seven on the side: Cornerback Keion Crossen, wide receiver Chad Hansen, tight end Jacob Hollister, cornerback J.C. Jackson, running back Sony Michel, defensive end Derek Rivers and offensive lineman Brian Schwenke were the Patriots’ seven inactive players for the game.

Hollister (hamstring) and Michel (knee) were both listed as questionable for the game on Friday.

Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, the team’s fifth-round choice, was the Patriots’ top 2018 draft pick to play in the game.

Their top pick, offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn, is on the injured reserve list with a torn Achilles and out for the season, fellow first-rounder Michel is working his way back from having his knee drained last month, cornerback Duke Dawson, the team’s second-round choice, is on IR with a hamstring injury eligible to return after the eighth game of the season and Crossen, a seventh-rounder, was a healthy scratch.

Wide receiver Keke Coutee, outside linebacker Duke Ejiofor, wide receiver Will Fuller, defensive end Joel Heath, offensive tackle Kendall Lamm, defensive end Carlos Watkins and cornerback Kayvon Webster were inactive for Houston.

Webster (Achilles) was ruled out of the game by the Texans on Friday, while Coutee, Ejiofor and Fuller were all listed as questionable with hamstring injuries.

Bentley is driven: Bentley started and played plenty, finishing second to cornerback Stephon Gilmore’s eight tackles in the game with seven, one for a loss, and registering one hit on Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.

“I was expecting to do whatever they needed me to do,” Bentley said of his heavy workload. “Whether that’s play a lot, play a little, it’s not my call. I just come to the stadium … and just work.”

Weymouth police represented: The Weymouth Police Department was represented as honor guards from the six New England states presented the colors prior to Sunday’s game.

Honor guards from the police departments in Gorham (Maine), South Burlington (Vermont), Portsmouth (New Hampshire), Bristol (Rhode Island) and Norwich, (Connecticut) also took part in the presentation.

That's a Rap: A couple of Sunday items from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport centered around offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels and tight end Rob Gronkowski.

According to Rapoport, McDaniels turned down the Indianapolis Colts’ head coaching job in February to remain with the Patriots on a five-year contract at a rate that “eclipses $4 million per year” at one point, making him easily the highest-paid coordinator in the league.

Rapoport also reported that offseason trade talks involving Gronkowski came to an end when the tight end said he wouldn’t play for any team other than the Patriots.

"I'm just glad to be here, glad to be part of this team, glad to be part of this organization and all that talk, all that stuff, I mean I would love to put it in the past," said Gronkowski, who caught seven passes for 123 yards and a touchdown but turned the ball over on a fumble. "Whatever it is, whatever reports keep coming out because I'm here and I'm here to stay and I'm here to keep playing ball with the Patriots and (I'm) just enjoying my time here."