The Houston Texans, still reeling from their Week 5 victory against the Buffalo Bills, will travel to Boston to take on the New England Patriots on Sunday. Houston will face the third overall pick, Drake Maye, in his season debut. As for their roster, Houston hopes to get some of their own players back from injury.
This may be considered an “easy” win for the Texans. But seeing as they don’t have any film on Maye, it’s hard to tell what he’ll be able to do out of the gate.
As the Texans look to improve to 5-1, let’s take a look at three keys to a victory in Foxborough.
Get the run game back on track
Houston's run game started the season doing very well, with Joe Mixon rushing for 184 yards and one touchdown through two games. After Mixon and backup Dameon Pierce suffered injuries, that forced Dare Ogunbowale and Cam Akers into more prominent roles.
Since then, the Texans backfield has rushed for 176 total yards. A big decrease in production, and Houston is hoping to have their new acquisition back soon to get the run game going again. The Texans had high hopes for the backfield before Mixon suffered his ankle injury, and they’re hoping to get that production back sooner rather than later, whether that's from Mixon or another player.
The pass rush needs to get to Drake Maye early and often
The Texans' pass rush on Sunday was the best we had seen this season. While they only sacked Josh Allen one time, they were able to hit him nine times. Against a far worse offensive line, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter should be able to rattle Drake Maye the entire game.
Hunter has only totaled 1.5 sacks this season, and the Texans are hoping to see more production out of their prized defensive acquisition. The Patriots' offensive line is perfect for Houston’s defensive line to get back in the sack column before they begin their tough stretch of the season. Their offensive line has allowed 17 sacks, and that number will continue to grow as they face strong defenses like the Texans.
Contain Rhamondre Stevenson
This again falls on the front seven, but if the Texans rattle Maye early on, they may go to Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson throughout the game. Stevenson, although benched due to fumbling issues, still had a very good game last week.
He finished with 89 yards and one touchdown on 12 rushing attempts. Despite the lack of confidence the Patriots decision-makers are showing in Stevenson, he’s still their best running back and deserves attention from the defense. Houston’s run defense has been fairly good to begin the season, allowing just 601 yards and four touchdowns on 124 carries.