Houston Texans: THREE Ways To Beat The New England Patriots
The odds are stacked against them, but there are ways the Houston Texans can beat the New England Patriots this weekend and advance to the AFC Championship.
The odds are stacked against them, but there are ways the Houston Texans can beat the New England Patriots this weekend and advance to the AFC Championship.
For any fan out there that may be curled up in a fetal position at the thought of the Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots being the next game and team to be faced in the playoffs, I deliver you a message of hope.
And no, it is not necessarily a fools hope.
While analysts and sportscasters across the board will write off the Texans to favor the Patriots, there are actually ways the fellas and navy and red can win the divisional round this weekend.
You may be asking, “How, exactly?” Well, there are three ways this can happen:
1. Brock Osweiler needs to complete more than 60 percent of his passes.
Now it is true that Brock Osweiler had a very commendable performance against the Raiders last Saturday. Arguably, one of the best of the season up to this point.
Unfortunately, he still only completed 56 percent of his passes. That leaves way to much to be desired by a high priced quarterback that is still fairly new to this game.
If he can somehow find a way to connect with his receivers in a way that does not scramble him in the pocket, he should be able to put up a lot of yardage. Dare I say it, maybe even more so than MVP caliber, Tom Brady.
It will require a repeat of his week 4 performance against Tennessee, in which he put up a completion rate of nearly 68 percent and threw for just over 250 yards in that game.
A few adjustments and the Texans could see themselves making this a lot more interesting of a game then many would anticipate.
2. The Defense needs to keep their train rolling.
Keeping Brady at bay will be crucial. This means that the number 1 ranked defense in the league will have to shore up the repeat performance they did last week.
Even if they don’t do exactly what they did to eliminate the Raiders, only giving up 17 points a game should be enough to get the job done. Albeit, so long as Osweiler and the offense puts up enough yards and points on the scoreboard.
Coverage on Brady is not enough. Receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola will have to be matched up fairly well. This way, you keep the Patriots offense off the field.
Next: Is A.J. Bouye An 'Elite' Corner?
3. Break the “Away” curse!
It’s no secret that the Houston Texans are not a very good road team. Case in point, they only won two of the eight games that they played while away from NRG Stadium.
Somehow, the team has got to block this out of their mind. Meditation, hypnosis, etc. Feel free to take your pick on one or a combination of things.
Gillette Stadium also gets pretty loud and rowdy. The team will need to keep their cool in order to get a win and advance. They have the skills to make this happen. Execution will be the component that either makes or breaks their season.
Yes, Texans fans. This next round in the playoffs does seem like a long shot. After all, they did get shut out in week 3 against this very same Patriots team.
But it is not completely out of reach. The team has enough components to get the job done. The upset of the decade could well be close at hand. Right now, it’s literally gut check time!