Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. <\/p>\n
Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers, holding them to just six points in a dramatic victory that saw two touchdowns scored by the defense. They also allowed Pittsburgh to move the chains on just two of 14 third-down chances. Meanwhile, New England had an even defensive day in their win over the Chargers. They were able to pick off Justin Herbert six times in the winning effort, while holding LA’s offense to just a field goal. <\/p>\n
As those defenses hit their stride, it challenges two of the brightest young quarterbacks the league has to offer, CJ Stroud and Drake Maye. For Stroud, this is his third straight year reaching the sectional round, but he has missed out on a conference tournament berth in his two previous visits to the semifinals. As for Maye, he’s looking to become the eighth-youngest quarterback to win a division-round game. <\/p>\n
So, the stage is very well set for a great game at Gillette Stadium. Before we dive deep into this matchup, however, let’s make sure you have all the information you need to check out this matchup. <\/p>\n
Where to watch Texans vs. Patriots live<\/h2>\n\n- Date: <\/strong>Sunday, Jan. 18 | Time:<\/strong> 3pm ET<\/li>\n
- Location: <\/strong>Gillette Stadium (Foxborough)<\/li>\n
- TV: <\/strong>ESPN, ABC | Broadcast<\/strong>: fubo, try it for free<\/li>\n
- Opportunities<\/strong>: Patriots -3, O\/U 40.5 (problems with DraftKings Sportsbook)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Key questions<\/h2>\nCan the left side of the Patriots OL hold up?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n![\"team](\"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/fly\/images\/team-logos\/420.svg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe left side of New England’s offensive line — led by rookies Will Campbell (left tackle) and Jared Wilson (left guard) — had a game to forget against the Chargers last week. Campbell finished his evening allowing five total pressures to go along with a sack, while Wilson also gave up five pressures and two sacks. Not them. Drake Maye was very quick on that play, which contributed to his two turnovers (cover and fumble). The challenge is getting tougher now that they will have to fend off a Texans pass rush headlined by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Houston finished second in the NFL with a 42.5% pass rush rate this season, and if he can get to May early and often, it will tip the scales significantly in the Texans’ favor. <\/p>\n
Will CJ Stroud protect the ball? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n![\"player](\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2025\/08\/13\/908c86cb-53e1-40e1-b682-39957288b0f8\/thumbnail\/100x100\/d73795aa86c1047bc6f1b9d70d3a42be\/3163079.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n![\"team](\"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/fly\/images\/team-logos\/247415.svg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat was lost in Houston’s win over the Steelers on Monday night was that Stroud had a bad game. While the Texans gave up 30 points of the game, 13 of those points were scored by the defense. The most painful aspect of Stroud’s performance was his inability to defend the ball. He threw poorly in the red zone and had a total of five fouls in the game (two lost). Two of the lost fumbles were sacks, and while some of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of the offensive line for that, Stroud also held the ball too long at times, which allowed Pittsburgh’s pass rush to get home. He also seemed to be out of touch with his center, who also saw the ball hit the ground. Stroud was fortunate that his defense bailed him out, as they allowed just three points on his three turnovers. If he can deliver the ball this time with MVP Drake Maye on the other end, it could be a different story. <\/p>\n
Has New England’s defense really stepped up?<\/h3>\n
Another key factor in New England’s win over the Chargers was how dominant their defense was. While we’ve come to expect that kind of brilliance from Houston’s wing, the Patriots’ defense seemed to step up against Los Angeles. They caught Justin Herbert and Co. in just three points, they sacked him six times, and allowed just one turnover on 10 third-down attempts. While that stands out, it’s worth wondering how much of that dominance is due to the Patriots’ game change and how much the Chargers just aren’t ready yet. After all, LA’s offensive line has struggled all season after losing both stars, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and Herbert was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league during the regular season. However, if this is a sign that this New England defense has stepped up, it raises their ceiling significantly. <\/p>\n
The X factor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n![\"player](\"https:\/\/sportshub.cbsistatic.com\/i\/r\/2025\/08\/13\/69c4a83a-616d-4fc9-bfbc-5ceba057b448\/thumbnail\/100x100\/85b33babc4cbd5308b25c1b73820c0b4\/2180820.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile there’s no official word yet, it appears the Texans will be without their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s game with a concussion. That’s a major setback for the offense, but Houston saw veteran Christian Kirk step up in that win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his nine catches on the night for 144 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need another performance like this for the Texans to move the ball with confidence any time soon. If he can’t, and no other quarterback steps up, that will again see Stroud hold the ball longer than he should, opening the door for New England’s rushers to bring him down mid-game. <\/p>\n
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, choose<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/strong>: Patriots 24, Texans 20\u00a0| Pick<\/strong>: Patriots -3<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3524,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/3524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Key questions<\/h2>\nCan the left side of the Patriots OL hold up?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe left side of New England’s offensive line — led by rookies Will Campbell (left tackle) and Jared Wilson (left guard) — had a game to forget against the Chargers last week. Campbell finished his evening allowing five total pressures to go along with a sack, while Wilson also gave up five pressures and two sacks. Not them. Drake Maye was very quick on that play, which contributed to his two turnovers (cover and fumble). The challenge is getting tougher now that they will have to fend off a Texans pass rush headlined by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Houston finished second in the NFL with a 42.5% pass rush rate this season, and if he can get to May early and often, it will tip the scales significantly in the Texans’ favor. <\/p>\n
Will CJ Stroud protect the ball? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat was lost in Houston’s win over the Steelers on Monday night was that Stroud had a bad game. While the Texans gave up 30 points of the game, 13 of those points were scored by the defense. The most painful aspect of Stroud’s performance was his inability to defend the ball. He threw poorly in the red zone and had a total of five fouls in the game (two lost). Two of the lost fumbles were sacks, and while some of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of the offensive line for that, Stroud also held the ball too long at times, which allowed Pittsburgh’s pass rush to get home. He also seemed to be out of touch with his center, who also saw the ball hit the ground. Stroud was fortunate that his defense bailed him out, as they allowed just three points on his three turnovers. If he can deliver the ball this time with MVP Drake Maye on the other end, it could be a different story. <\/p>\n
Has New England’s defense really stepped up?<\/h3>\n
Another key factor in New England’s win over the Chargers was how dominant their defense was. While we’ve come to expect that kind of brilliance from Houston’s wing, the Patriots’ defense seemed to step up against Los Angeles. They caught Justin Herbert and Co. in just three points, they sacked him six times, and allowed just one turnover on 10 third-down attempts. While that stands out, it’s worth wondering how much of that dominance is due to the Patriots’ game change and how much the Chargers just aren’t ready yet. After all, LA’s offensive line has struggled all season after losing both stars, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and Herbert was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league during the regular season. However, if this is a sign that this New England defense has stepped up, it raises their ceiling significantly. <\/p>\n
The X factor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile there’s no official word yet, it appears the Texans will be without their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s game with a concussion. That’s a major setback for the offense, but Houston saw veteran Christian Kirk step up in that win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his nine catches on the night for 144 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need another performance like this for the Texans to move the ball with confidence any time soon. If he can’t, and no other quarterback steps up, that will again see Stroud hold the ball longer than he should, opening the door for New England’s rushers to bring him down mid-game. <\/p>\n
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, choose<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/strong>: Patriots 24, Texans 20\u00a0| Pick<\/strong>: Patriots -3<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3524,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/3524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe left side of New England’s offensive line — led by rookies Will Campbell (left tackle) and Jared Wilson (left guard) — had a game to forget against the Chargers last week. Campbell finished his evening allowing five total pressures to go along with a sack, while Wilson also gave up five pressures and two sacks. Not them. Drake Maye was very quick on that play, which contributed to his two turnovers (cover and fumble). The challenge is getting tougher now that they will have to fend off a Texans pass rush headlined by Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Houston finished second in the NFL with a 42.5% pass rush rate this season, and if he can get to May early and often, it will tip the scales significantly in the Texans’ favor. <\/p>\n
Will CJ Stroud protect the ball? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat was lost in Houston’s win over the Steelers on Monday night was that Stroud had a bad game. While the Texans gave up 30 points of the game, 13 of those points were scored by the defense. The most painful aspect of Stroud’s performance was his inability to defend the ball. He threw poorly in the red zone and had a total of five fouls in the game (two lost). Two of the lost fumbles were sacks, and while some of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of the offensive line for that, Stroud also held the ball too long at times, which allowed Pittsburgh’s pass rush to get home. He also seemed to be out of touch with his center, who also saw the ball hit the ground. Stroud was fortunate that his defense bailed him out, as they allowed just three points on his three turnovers. If he can deliver the ball this time with MVP Drake Maye on the other end, it could be a different story. <\/p>\n
Has New England’s defense really stepped up?<\/h3>\n
Another key factor in New England’s win over the Chargers was how dominant their defense was. While we’ve come to expect that kind of brilliance from Houston’s wing, the Patriots’ defense seemed to step up against Los Angeles. They caught Justin Herbert and Co. in just three points, they sacked him six times, and allowed just one turnover on 10 third-down attempts. While that stands out, it’s worth wondering how much of that dominance is due to the Patriots’ game change and how much the Chargers just aren’t ready yet. After all, LA’s offensive line has struggled all season after losing both stars, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and Herbert was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league during the regular season. However, if this is a sign that this New England defense has stepped up, it raises their ceiling significantly. <\/p>\n
The X factor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile there’s no official word yet, it appears the Texans will be without their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s game with a concussion. That’s a major setback for the offense, but Houston saw veteran Christian Kirk step up in that win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his nine catches on the night for 144 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need another performance like this for the Texans to move the ball with confidence any time soon. If he can’t, and no other quarterback steps up, that will again see Stroud hold the ball longer than he should, opening the door for New England’s rushers to bring him down mid-game. <\/p>\n
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, choose<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/strong>: Patriots 24, Texans 20\u00a0| Pick<\/strong>: Patriots -3<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3524,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/3524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat was lost in Houston’s win over the Steelers on Monday night was that Stroud had a bad game. While the Texans gave up 30 points of the game, 13 of those points were scored by the defense. The most painful aspect of Stroud’s performance was his inability to defend the ball. He threw poorly in the red zone and had a total of five fouls in the game (two lost). Two of the lost fumbles were sacks, and while some of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of the offensive line for that, Stroud also held the ball too long at times, which allowed Pittsburgh’s pass rush to get home. He also seemed to be out of touch with his center, who also saw the ball hit the ground. Stroud was fortunate that his defense bailed him out, as they allowed just three points on his three turnovers. If he can deliver the ball this time with MVP Drake Maye on the other end, it could be a different story. <\/p>\n
Has New England’s defense really stepped up?<\/h3>\n
Another key factor in New England’s win over the Chargers was how dominant their defense was. While we’ve come to expect that kind of brilliance from Houston’s wing, the Patriots’ defense seemed to step up against Los Angeles. They caught Justin Herbert and Co. in just three points, they sacked him six times, and allowed just one turnover on 10 third-down attempts. While that stands out, it’s worth wondering how much of that dominance is due to the Patriots’ game change and how much the Chargers just aren’t ready yet. After all, LA’s offensive line has struggled all season after losing both stars, Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and Herbert was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league during the regular season. However, if this is a sign that this New England defense has stepped up, it raises their ceiling significantly. <\/p>\n
The X factor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile there’s no official word yet, it appears the Texans will be without their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s game with a concussion. That’s a major setback for the offense, but Houston saw veteran Christian Kirk step up in that win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his nine catches on the night for 144 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need another performance like this for the Texans to move the ball with confidence any time soon. If he can’t, and no other quarterback steps up, that will again see Stroud hold the ball longer than he should, opening the door for New England’s rushers to bring him down mid-game. <\/p>\n
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, choose<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/strong>: Patriots 24, Texans 20\u00a0| Pick<\/strong>: Patriots -3<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3524,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/3524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhile there’s no official word yet, it appears the Texans will be without their No. 1 pass-catching weapon in Nico Collins, after he left Monday’s game with a concussion. That’s a major setback for the offense, but Houston saw veteran Christian Kirk step up in that win over Pittsburgh, catching eight of his nine catches on the night for 144 yards and a touchdown. They’ll need another performance like this for the Texans to move the ball with confidence any time soon. If he can’t, and no other quarterback steps up, that will again see Stroud hold the ball longer than he should, opening the door for New England’s rushers to bring him down mid-game. <\/p>\n
Texans vs. Patriots prediction, choose<\/h2>\n
<\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prediction<\/strong>: Patriots 24, Texans 20\u00a0| Pick<\/strong>: Patriots -3<\/p>\n <\/sportsline-pick-snippet><\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Only one ticket to the AFC Championship will be punched Sunday afternoon when the Houston Texans and New England Patriots battle it out in Foxborough in the divisional round. Both clubs came out victorious on the weekend of cards, thanks in no small part to some defensive efforts. Against Pittsburgh, Houston blanketed Aaron Rodgers and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3522"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3524,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3522\/revisions\/3524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightresearcher.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}