While the Houston Texans are a heavy favorite to beat the struggling New England Patriots, a victory won’t come easy here. First of all, the Houston Texans aren’t at full strength, missing Wide Receiver Nico Collins and Running Back Joe Mixon. The Pats will also showcase their new quarterback Drake Maye, so Houston does not want to take this game lightly. Will the Texans be able to leave Foxborough victorious on Sunday afternoon?
Houston Texans Must Contain the Pats Run Game
The one bright spot in a woeful offense for New England this season has been the running game. Just look at the Dolphins game, where Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown. Stevenson won’t be suiting up against the Texans, but the Pats have a more than serviceable backup in Antonio Gibson. The big challenge for the Houston Texans defense will be keeping Gibson out of the endzone. The Patriots struggle to score through the air, only scoring two passing touchdowns on the season. Therefore, a good game plan would try to clog up the run lanes and force Maye to beat the defense with his arm.
Target Tank Dell
Perhaps fans were expecting Stefon Diggs to be the primary target for Quarterback C.J. Stroud, and while he will be the wide receiver 1 for the Texans this week, Dell should be getting more targets in this game. This is because the Pats are going to keep Cornerback Christian Gonzalez on Diggs the whole game, and the safeties and nickelbacks will probably help in that regard as well.
If Stroud ever feels like the Pats are going above and beyond to try and take Diggs out of the game, he should simply look for Dell and force the defense to spread out. Dell only has 13 catches on the year for 137 yards. He is due for a breakout performance on Sunday.
Take Care Of the Football
This is something every football team should try to do every Sunday, but this is an extra point of concern for the Houston Texans heading into this game. After Nico Collins left to the injury tent against the Buffalo Bills, the Houston Texans gave up a strip sack and Stroud threw an interception. This all occurred in the second half of the game where they didn’t score until the end of regulation.
If this is the beginning of a trend, then the Houston Texans are at risk of losing every game, even to the Patriots. Perhaps the biggest thing to do in this regard is protecting Stroud in the pocket. Running backs should be chipping any rushers as they run their routes or just stay back and block if it seems the Pats are blitzing often. Drake Maye would love to have short fields to convert into easy points, so the Texans offense can’t give him that opportunity.
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