Welcome to a Divisional Round edition of 'Speaking with the Enemy,' a weekly feature here at Toro Times where I'll be sleuthing for some intel on each week's Houston Texans opponent.
This week, ahead of Houston's Divisional Round matchup against the New England Patriots, I checked in with Sara Marshall of Musket Fire to fill us in on what we should be looking for from the AFC East champions ahead of Sunday afternoon's game.
Sonny Giuliano: Okay Sara, heading into Sunday's Divisional Round matchup, I think we need to start with Drake Maye. Whether you believe Maye or Matthew Stafford is the league's MVP this year, Maye has clearly taken a step forward, but this matchup with Houston represents by far the biggest challenge of his young career. Coming off a Wild Card win in which he started slow, how well do you think Maye can manage the pressure and physicality of Houston's league-best defense?
Sara Marshall: Although a lot of the discussion about the Patriots’ 2025 schedule, Maye has faced some really tough passing defenses and excelled despite that. I expect much of the same against the Texans on Sunday, even if his performance last week against the Chargers wasn’t the greatest, but I do think a lot of his success will come down to how the offensive line fares.
Rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson struggled against LA’s defensive line, so the hope is they will be better this week. Regardless, Maye has proven he can still perform well if the line isn’t giving him much time, and that will be the ultimate test he will need to ace in this biggest game of his young career.
SG: Coming out of the offseason last April, it felt like the Patriots were among the biggest winners in the league. Not only did they have the money to make major upgrades to their roster, but they upgraded at head coach as well, bringing in Mike Vrabel, who instantly won 14 games in his first season as New England's head coach. Obviously, this was the vision Pats fans saw when Vrabel was hired, but how unexpected was it that it all happened in Year 1?
SM: It was totally unexpected! In fact, most fans predicted the Patriots would win a max of maybe nine games this year, and most believed that was being overly optimistic.
We knew that Vrabel was the right guy for the job, and because the new coaching staff prioritized giving Maye the kind of roster he would need to succeed, it was clear they were going to build a solid foundation to become a competitive team again in a few years. So the fact that they’re going into the divisional round already is a pleasant and welcome surprise.
SG: Give me the latest on Christian Gonzalez. Houston isn't going to have Nico Collins in this game, so it's not as if Gonzalez will be shadowing a Pro Bowl caliber receiver. But how much better is this Patriots D with him as opposed to without him?
SM: Fortunately, Gonzalez reportedly cleared concussion protocol, so the secondary will be in far better hands with him on the field. He missed the first few games of the season, and the defense just wasn’t as solid, proving his value even more.
Had he not been able to play on Sunday, they’d still have some good players to rely on, like Carlton Davis III and Marcus Jones. However, Gonzalez is a difference-maker and considered one of the best in the league for a reason, so his absence would’ve definitely been a big win for the Texans.
SG: The Stefon Diggs connection with the Texans has been an obvious talking point this week. It seems from the outside like the Patriots have been slow playing Diggs all season, really only dialing it up when they need him most. How involved do you see him being on Sunday afternoon?
SM: I sure hope so! In some of their toughest games, he has been the dominating force that opposing defenses wish they could stop. That just hasn’t been the case in recent weeks, so hopefully it will change on Sunday.
If Houston makes it impossible for Maye to throw to him, however, I’d expect to see Hunter Henry more involved again and become Maye’s go-to guy.
SG: Give me one under-the-radar player for the Patriots who could be an X-Factor on Sunday.
SM: Defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga - he returned to practice this week and should suit up for the game and will be a massive game-changer for the Patriots’ defense.
He is so good at stopping the run, and after what we saw from Woody Marks last week, they’ll need all the help they can get to ensure they aren’t beaten on the ground. He also creates opportunities for the pass rushers to get after the quarterback, which will be a priority against CJ Stroud, because if they can disrupt him, good things can happen.
With Tonga in the lineup alongside Christian Barmore, Robert Spillane, and Milton Williams, the hope is that the run game will be nearly non-existent for the Texans.
SG: If the Patriots defend home field and advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in 7 years, what do you think the biggest reason why will be?
SM: I think it will be the coaching staff. Obviously, the players are the ones winning the game, but over the last five years, the coaches have been a major weak point, holding the team back.
There is a massive shift in the attitude and atmosphere in the locker room this year compared to the 2024 season, and Mike Vrabel is the reason for that. The players have completely bought into the culture he has instilled, and they have become the brotherhood that they were once known for.
It has made them play harder for each other, and I think that will be a major factor in how they fare, whether they face the Broncos or the Bills.