The first game of the 2018 regular season continues to get ever so close and for the Houston Texans that means a match with the ageless Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Facing the New England Patriots and Tom Brady is never an easy task, but for the Houston Texans they have to start out the regular season with maybe their toughest opponent of the season, playing the defending AFC champions on the road.
Granted, the Patriots aren’t unstoppable as they did lose the Super Bowl last season. The Texans in their first 10 meetings against New England the record isn’t stellar at all, coming in at 1-9 overall. With New England winning the past seven meetings, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien spoke about the upcoming game on Tuesday as he does have ties with the Patriots, coaching there for five seasons.
Nicole Young of the Boston Globe wrote about how O’Brien believes that Brady is “moving better than ever,” quoting the Texans head coach in an article:
"“I think he’s actually improved,” O’Brien said during a conference call Tuesday afternoon. “I think this guy is a great football player. He works so hard at all the different parts of his game …”"
The Texans must get to Brady early and not let the Patriots gain momentum for the team to have a chance to win this game. Stopping Brady is the No. 1 key for a Texans win, but as Brady seems to keep getting better with age, time will tell if a healthy Houston defense is enough to stop the defending AFC champs.
• The Houston Texans released an unofficial depth chart on Tuesday, where it looks like the starting wide receivers will be DeAndre Hopkins, Bruce Ellington and Will Fuller.
This roster is formidable if the players listed can stay healthy, which has been an issue the past coupe seasons, especially last season which led to the poor 4-12 overall record. Even if all the players stay on the field, they all must get used to playing as a single unit or who knows exactly how this season will turn out.
Looking at the wide receivers, this is a solid group of players for Deshaun Watson to throw the football to. That alone makes for the offense to be very tough if Watson gets the necessary time to throw the football.
• Michael Hurley of CBS Boston wrote about the history of this match but also said to take the Texans “seriously” in this game:
"“there’s enough reason to believe the Texans will enter Gillette Stadium as a dangerous team — one fully capable of starting the year with an upset victory over Bill Belichick and Co.”"
This is a different way to look at Sunday. It is true that the Texans shouldn’t be overlooked by the Patriots. With a healthy Houston defense nothing will be a given for New England in this game. If the Texans can cause issues early for the Patriots than this can be a good, competitive game.
The Texans can’t afford to let New England get hot fast, because it is Brady on the other side of the field and if he’s hot odds are a win won’t happen for the road team.
• Tweet of the Day
Since 2011, despite missing 24 games, @HoustonTexans DE @JJWatt still leads the @NFL in tackles for loss (136), quarterback hits (219), fumble recoveries (13) & multi-sack games (21). Watt also is 2nd in sacks (76.0) & 1st in passes defensed by a defensive lineman (47) #Dominant pic.twitter.com/vAzMUkyop2
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) September 4, 2018
Having J.J. Watt on the roster is such a plus, and looking at these numbers for his career, it is absolutely amazing just how good he’s been.
If Watt can stay on the field this season he’ll add to those numbers and continue to rewrite the record books. Plus, if Watt stays on the field, the Texans have a better shot of winning games each and every week.