The New England Patriots took care of business on Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 to advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Twenty-four hours later, they learned who their opponent was going to be: the Houston Texans, who scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers with a final score of 30-6.
We will have in-depth analysis into the Texans throughout the week. For now, however, here are some quick-hit thoughts on the matchup.
Hottest team in football
The Patriots
built plenty of momentum during the regular season, finishing with a 14-3 record even after starting 1-2. For as hot of a team as they might be, the Texans have an argument as the hottest team in the NFL right now.
Houston began its season with three straight defeats before rebounding a bit. By early November, however, they still were only 3-5. Then, the winning started — and it has not stopped. Including the victory over Pittsburgh on Monday night, the team of head coach DeMeco Ryans has now won 10 games in a row. During that streak, it defeated its opponents with an average score of 26.6 to 18.
Elite defense
The Texans finished the regular season ranked 13th in the NFL in points per game (23.8), a solid number. However, they did not go 12-5 due to their offensive firepower: the biggest reason for their success has been the play of their defense, possibly the best in the league.
Led by first-team All-Pros Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr, the Texans have made suffocating opposing offenses a weekly ritual. The Steelers on Monday became the latest victim, surrendering both a fumble return and an interception return for a touchdown while managing only six points and 175 net yards on the day. It was a truly magnificent performance by a Houston defense ranked in the top-10 in virtually every major statistic.
Among the numbers worth highlighting are scoring rate (27.6%; 1st), yards per game (277.2; 1st), EPA per dropback (-0.100; 1st), EPA per play (-1.080; 2nd) and turnover rate (14.6%; 4th).
Naturally, the unit run by Ryans and coordinator Matt Burke will be a major challenge for the Patriots. While they are fielding one of the best offenses in football led by an MVP-caliber quarterback, Drake Maye, the group had its fair share of issues against a very good Chargers defense on Sunday.
The Texans are at least one step up from that group and will be the toughest test Maye has faced in his young career.
Mistake-free offense
While the Texans defense has, rightfully so, gotten plenty of attention this season, the team’s offense also has been fairly productive. Coordinated by former Patriots assistant coach Nick Caley, it has been a very good complement to the defense due to its ability to limit mistakes (5.8% turnover rate; 1st) and keep the field position battle in a favorable balance.
As far as personnel, obviously quarterback C.J. Stroud is worth mentioning. The 2023 first-round draft pick started 15 of 18 games so far, and including Monday night has completed 294 of 455 pass attempts (64.6%) for 3,291 yards with 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
By far his favorite receivers have been Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz, who both have over 100 targets to their name so far this season. Of course, against the Steelers on Monday, somebody else stole the spotlight: in-season trade acquisition Christian Kirk led the team with eight catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Familiar foe
Like the Chargers, the Patriots also have some familiarity with Houston. They did not square off this season, which means that the current coaching staff has no experience against this version of the Texans, but Drake Maye and several members of the team played against the AFC South squad in 2024. In fact, the 41-21 loss in Week 6 last year was Maye’s first career start.
The then-rookie finished 20-of-33 for 243 yards with a touchdown pass each to Kayshon Boutte, Hunter Henry and DeMario Douglas. He also threw a pair of interceptions and lost a fumble. On the other side, then-Texan Stefon Diggs caught six passes for 77 yards and a touchdown against his future team.
