Divisional Round Preview: Texans at Patriots

By Anton Ryan Smith, DFWSPORTS.net

The final matchup of the weekend will take place in Foxboro, Massachusetts where the Patriots take on the Texans in a rematch of the December blow out win for New England.

The Patriots, while known for their all-out aerial assault of an offense, have been riding a similarly dominant defense as of late allowing only 106 points over its last 6 games (they allowed 41 against SF during this stretch which significantly skews the numbers).  In contrast to this, Houston’s once vaunted offense is now struggling to put the ball into the end zone.  They have done well moving the ball between the 20s, but seem to be caught settling for field goals.  During their last 6 games (including the playoffs), Houston has scored only 85 points (a 14 ppg average).  If Houston wants a chance to avenge their loss to New England earlier this season, it absolutely must capitalize on every opportunity.  Matt Schaub will likely have to play out of himself to win this one.  Simply running the ball as they did in their last playoff game against the Bengals will not be enough here.  The one bit of good news for Houston is that they do still have a solid defense which at least has the potential to put some pressure on Tom Brady. J.J. Watt will likely have to completely own this game as well to keep the future hall of famer Brady in check.

I will admit that the Texans were my pre-season AFC champion pick, I can no longer stand by this pick.  This game will end their season.

Anton’s Prediction: New England 34, Houston 21