Just one ticket to the AFC Championship might be punched on Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots duke it out from Foxborough within the divisional spherical.
Each golf equipment emerged out of untamed card weekend victorious, thanks largely to some super efforts on the defensive facet of the ball. In opposition to Pittsburgh, Houston engulfed Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense, holding them to only six factors in a blowout win that noticed two touchdowns scored by the protection. Additionally they allowed Pittsburgh to maneuver the chains on simply two of its 14 third-down alternatives. In the meantime, New England had an equally stellar day defensively in its win over the Chargers. They had been capable of take down Justin Herbert six instances within the successful effort, whereas holding the L.A. offense to a mere discipline aim.
With these defenses hitting their strides, it poses fairly a problem for 2 of the brightest younger quarterbacks that the league has to supply, C.J. Stroud and Drake Maye. For Stroud, that is his third consecutive yr advancing to the divisional spherical, however he has stopped wanting a convention championship berth in his prior two visits to this playoff plateau. As for Maye, he is seeking to turn into the eighth-youngest quarterback all-time to win a divisional spherical sport.
So, the stage is ready fairly properly for a heck of a sport at Gillette Stadium. Earlier than we dive additional into this matchup, nevertheless, let’s be sure to have all the knowledge that you must try this sport.
The place to observe Texans vs. Patriots reside
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 18 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough)
- TV: ESPN, ABC | Stream: fubo, strive free of charge
- Odds: Patriots -3, O/U 40.5 (odds by way of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Key questions
Can the left facet of Patriots OL maintain up?
The left facet of New England’s offensive line — spearheaded by rookies Will Campbell (left deal with) and Jared Wilson (left guard) — had a sport to neglect towards the Chargers final week. Campbell completed his night permitting 5 complete pressures to associate with a sack, whereas Wilson additionally gave up 5 pressures and two sacks. No bueno. Drake Maye was hurried fairly a bit in that sport, which contributed to his two turnovers (an interception and a fumble). The problem solely will get more durable now that they’re going to should fend off a deadly Texans go rush headlined by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Houston completed second within the NFL with a 42.5% stress fee this season, and if they will get to Maye early and infrequently, it will drastically tip the scales within the Texans’ favor.
Will C.J. Stroud defend the soccer?
What bought misplaced throughout Houston’s dominating win over the Steelers on Monday evening was that Stroud had a foul sport. Whereas the Texans dropped 30 factors for the sport, 13 of these factors had been scored by the protection. Probably the most jarring side of Stroud’s efficiency was his lack of ability to guard the soccer. He threw an ill-advised interception within the purple zone and had 5 complete fumbles within the sport (two misplaced). The 2 misplaced fumbles had been strip sacks, and whereas some blame might be placed on the shoulders of the offensive line in that regard, Stroud additionally held onto the ball too lengthy at instances, which allowed the Pittsburgh go rush to get house. He additionally appeared to have some miscommunication together with his heart, which additionally noticed the ball hit the turf. Stroud was lucky to have his protection bail him out, as they allowed simply three factors on his three turnovers. If he offers the ball away this time round with MVP contender Drake Maye on the opposite facet, it may very well be a special story.
Has New England’s protection really leveled up?
One of many large takeaways from New England’s win over the Chargers was simply how dominant their protection was. Whereas we have come to anticipate that type of brilliance from Houston’s unit, the Patriots’ protection appeared to stage up towards Los Angeles. They held Justin Herbert and Co. to only three factors, sacked him six instances, and allowed only one conversion on 10 third-down makes an attempt. Whereas that is excellent, it’s honest to surprise simply how a lot of that domination was because of the Patriots’ evolving play and the way a lot to the Chargers not being prepared for the second. In any case, the L.A. offensive line had been in shambles all season after shedding each star tackles, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and Herbert was one of the vital pressured quarterbacks within the league through the common season. Nonetheless, if it is a signal that this New England protection has gone up a stage, it raises their ceiling remarkably.
X issue
Whereas there is no official phrase but, it does seem as if the Texans might be with out their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s matchup resulting from a concussion. That is a giant blow to the offense, however Houston did see veteran Christian Kirk step up in that playoff win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his 9 targets on the evening for 144 yards and a landing. They’re going to want one other efficiency like that for the Texans to confidently transfer the ball with any regularity. If he can’t, and no different go catcher steps up, that’ll as soon as once more see Stroud maintain onto the ball far longer than he ought to and open the door for New England’s go rushers to take him down all through the sport.
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, decide
Houston’s pass rush is a real challenge for the Patriots’ offensive line. However, I think New England’s defense could prove just as big an adversary for C.J. Stroud, especially if he does not have Collins. It looks like the Patriots will have star corner Christian Gonzalez for this matchup after he also suffered a concussion on Sunday, further emboldening the idea that this New England unit can shut down the Texans’ offense and potentially create a turnover or two. If Stroud coughs the football up, the Patriots should be able to capitalize more than Pittsburgh was able to a week ago.
On top of that, this is also a tough spot for the Texans from a scheduling perspective. They just had to play on the road in Pittsburgh, fly back to Houston, and then jump back on the plane to head to New England, all on the short week. That’s a lot of adversity to overcome, so I see the Patriots advancing to the AFC Championship.
Prediction: Patriots 24, Texans 20 | Pick: Patriots -3
