TAKE THAT! Tom Brady (12), Brandon Lloyd (85) and the Patriots crushed Whitney Mercilus and the Texans in Week 14. The rematch is today. (
)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Texans and Patriots met a month ago at Gillette Stadium, and it was not even close. The Pats stomped the Texans 42-14.
Now, we get the rematch.
Can the Texans at least make this one competitive, or are we going to get another blowout? Players and coaches on both sides insist the Dec. 10 matchup has no bearing on Sunday. But the oddsmakers installed the Patriots as 9 1/2-point favorites, and it’s hard to find anyone giving the Texans a chance at advancing to next week’s AFC Championship.
“I think it’s a bunch of garbage,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “The game will have it’s own elements and will write its own story.”
The players grew tired of hearing about it this week.
“Obviously, we didn’t play good last time we were up there,” Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said. “I don’t think we need to keep rehashing it. I think we just need to play our style of football.”
The Texans were a trendy Super Bowl pick at the start of the year. They started of 11-1 but lost three of their final four regular-season games. A columnist in the Boston Globe called the Texans “fraudulent” this week and said the Patriots just have to “beat the terrible Texans.” That got under the skin of the Texans, who now may have a chip on their shoulders.
The Patriots have not lost in two months. Many of these players were on last year’s team that made it to the Super Bowl and lost to the Giants, but most were not around when the Patriots last won a Super Bowl in 2004 — only quarterback Tom Brady and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork remain from the title teams.
“To be able to come as close as we did last year and have past failures in my previous seasons here, it just drives you and motivates you more,” wide receiver Matthew Slater said. “We don’t feel like we’ve accomplished anything. We don’t feel like we’ve arrived at all because it’s all for naught unless you do something in the postseason. We’re very driven, very motivated, very focused.”
A look inside the game:
MARQUEE MATCHUP
Texans QB Matt Schaub vs. Patriots DBs. The Patriots defense is known for being poor against the pass, but the unit still gets interceptions in bunches. The Pats have 20 picks this year and as a team they are plus-25 in turnover differential, best in the NFL.
In their first meeting, Schaub threw an early interception that got the Patriots rolling. In his past five games, Schaub has one touchdown pass and four interceptions.
“We go up with a lot of confidence,” Schaub said. “If you want to move on, you’ve got to bring a sense of nastiness and attitude with you to go out and dominate your opponent on every play.”
MOVE OVER MONTANA
If Tom Brady picks up the win today it will be his 17th postseason victory, passing Joe Montana for the most by any quarterback. He already leads the postseason in passes completed (499).
Brady had another outstanding season, passing for 30 touchdowns for the third straight season, becoming the fifth player in NFL history with at least 30 touchdown passes in four seasons. He also surpassed 4,000 yards, becoming the fifth player to do that in at least five seasons.
TURN UP THE WATTAGE
J.J. Watt had a monster year for the Texans with 20 1/2 sacks and 16 passes defended. He was a nightmare for opponents (just ask the Jets.) But the Patriots held him without a sack or a pass defensed in the meeting last month. If he can’t disrupt Brady, the Texans could have another long day.
“I got quite a few hits on Brady, but, obviously, the ball was gone every time,” Watt said. “That’s why you get another shot, and this is the playoffs and I’m going to bring everything that I have.”
GETTING HEALTHY
The Texans were not at full strength on defense when these two teams met last month. Cornerback Johnathan Joseph played with a hamstring injury that slowed him down, and outside linebacker Brooks Reed did not play with a groin injury.
Houston’s defense played well in last week’s 19-13 win over the Bengals in the wild-card round. The Texans held Cincinnati to 198 yards. The challenge gets tougher today.
DYNAMIC DUO
The Patriots did not have tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez together on the field too often this year. They played in just five games together. Hernandez missed six of the first 10 games with a sprained right ankle. Gronkowski sat out the next five with a broken left forearm. He played on a limited basis in their regular-season finale.
Now, they’re back and sure to give the Texans headaches. The duo combined for 169 catches in 2011. This year They had 106 combined and 16 touchdowns.
“It’s a matter of execution more than anything,” Brady said. “Just because [Gronkowski] may have the opportunity to be out there on a particular play doesn’t matter if we don’t execute it well.”
Costello’s Call
The Patriots owned the Texans a month ago. This one is a little bit closer but it’s tough to go against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at home.
PATRIOTS 31, TEXANS 21