It appears the real reason the Houston Texans were shut out by the New England Patriots on Thursday night has been unearthed: They sat in traffic.

The Texans were “zonked” after sitting in an hour and 20 minutes of traffic while driving to Gillette Stadium, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday. The Patriots beat the Texans 27-0 in the Thursday night game.

The Texans made the head-scratching decision to stay in Waltham, Mass., which is 26 miles away and 33 minutes without traffic from Gillette Stadium. It’s worth noting Texans coach Bill O’Brien grew up in Massachusetts and spent years on the Patriots’ coaching staff.

Traffic was horrible Thursday afternoon in the Boston area.

If you're coming to tonight's game, uh, leave 15 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/cPKPwDwk7e — Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) September 22, 2016

The Texans arrived to Gillette Stadium around 6:15 p.m. for the 8:25 p.m. game.

So let this be a lesson to teams traveling to New England: There are plenty of fine hotels in the Foxboro area.

Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images