Houston Texans vs New England Patriots: Three things to watch for

The Houston Texans will take on the New England Patriots in their second preseason game of the season and here are three things to watch for in the matchup.

The Houston Texans completed their joint practice with the New England Patriots this week and have concluded their stay at the Greenbrier, finally returning to Houston for good and to kick off the first preseason home game. The team will be picking up right where they left off last season, where they fell to the Pats 34-16 in an inspiring defensive effort.

The Pats have made some tweaks with their team while we’ll be shuffling yet another quarterback under center for the fourth straight year in the Bill O’Brien era. But the difference is that likely this decision will stick with the team drafting Deshaun Watson this season for the future. Tom Savage will the presumptive starter for this season — unless he plays horribly or gets injured — while Watson is seen more as more of a student, learning how to play at the pro level.

We talk about this in depth on my podcast, Locked on Texans with my co-host Robert Land:

I wouldn’t categorize DW4 as an understudy because his level of experience is roughly on par with Savage’s as he’s had limited experience in his goings on as well. But it will be interesting to see how the quarterback play responds to the Pats as both are expected to get a significant amount time.

As we transition into the matchup, here are THREE things to watch for:

1. A strong start out of the gate

The Houston Texans sputtered a bit on their opening drives against the Carolina Panthers last week. It’s imperative that this offense gets off to a robust start as we won’t be able to afford such a notion when the season starts.

But that’s what the preseason is all about — ensuring the kinks are worked out before the Big Show starts. Savage was 1-for-3 early but finished 8-for-8 before being pulled in favor of Watson — Savage proved that the could respond soundly to the pressure and still work toward getting the job done under center.

There are even telltale signs of the Houston Texans offense improving — they’re currently ranked 4th in the preseason in terms of total yardage at 410 of those so far. I’m banking on this team doing what it takes to ensure they zoom out the gate.

2. The Robert Nelson conundrum

Backup cornerback Robert Nelson has been incredibly bad at his coverage as this dates back to last season. He continues to get burnt by not only elite receivers but ones that are trying to make names for themselves.

He’s got to improve in this aspect as the Houston Texans are counting on him to provide some type of

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usefulness this season. But there’s no signs to me that this will happen. But if he improves on his coverage, then I know he does have the ability to learn from his mistakes and make a valuable contribution for this roster.

Damiere Byrd, his assignment last week, ate Nelson’s lunch tremendously. Nelson allowed two touchdowns off four catches for 98 yards — 24.5 yards per catch — that can’t happen in the season so he’s got to figure it out. Rob had four tackles but most of those where because his assignment had already beat him. I’m pulling for him!

3. Texans’ level of pressure on the QB

I cannot stress this enough. This defense needs to apply intense, consistent pressure on whomever is under center for the Pats, whether it be Tom Brady, Jimmy Garropolo or Jacoby Brissett. Brissett torched us immensely in the regular season in game back in 2016, including a touchdown run of his own.

Hopefully we’ve learned from such an embarrassment and we don’t let petty mistakes happen like that again. We already know how our ones are going to do — J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Brian Cushing, Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney are going to bring it. But what about Brandon Dunn, Brennan Scarlett, Carlos Watkins, Sio Moore, Eli Ankou and Brian Peters?

Those guys are battling for a roster spot and I’d like to see how they perform in regard to defending the Pats’ robust offense. Dunn had the team’s only sack last week and has been quite solid with the coverage with the run and the pass but has a lot more room for improvement. We’ll have to see how this notion goes.

Next: A DREAM Super Bowl matchup for the ages

New England has the 3rd-highest ranked offense in terms of total yards at 426 of those so far.

And there you have it — I’m anxious to see if we see any of these against the defending champs. I honestly don’t care if we win the game but I just want to see a valiant effort on both sides of football. Let’s go!

Go Texans.

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