BIG TEST AHEAD FOR TEXANS IN NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Houston Texans face an enormous challenge against the New England Patriots tonight.
The Texans are 1-7 against the Patriots. They are winless in New England all time, including a shutout loss earlier this season when Tom Brady was out because of a suspension.
The Patriots enter the game as 15 1/2point favorites over the visiting Texans — just the sixth time since 1966 that a team has been favored by at least 15 points in a playoff game.
In the five previous occasions only one underdog — the New York Jets in Joe Namath’s Super Bowl guarantee — won the game.
New England says it isn’t taking anything for granted in the divisional round matchup against the NFL’s topranked defense.
But how does Houston, which lost 270 in Week 3 to a Patriots team without Brady, go about beating a team that is one of the biggest favorites in playoff history?
“The first thing that jumps out, you have to protect the ball. If you are going to beat the Patriots, especially in Foxborough, you can’t have any turnovers,” Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler said.
“If you have turnovers, you are giving Tom additional chances to score points. ... and that’s never going to be good for your football team.”
Chiefs vs. Steelers
Alex Smith endured watching film of the Kansas City Chiefs’ meltdown in Pittsburgh earlier this season “a bunch of times” this week, still trying to figure out where everything went wrong.
As if he hasn’t relived it enough in his nightmares.
Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes. Le’Veon Bell starred in his return from a three-game suspension.
The Steelers scored 22 first-quarter points, led 36-0 before the Chiefs finally scored and they proceeded to route the eventual AFC West champions 43-14 that October night.
“It’s been a long time,” Smith said, “so they’ve changed. Over the course of the season, they’ve progressed and gone a certain direction. There’s a lot they change week-to-week as well.”
But the Chiefs (12-4) are a different team, too.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill has made a name for himself as one of the NFL’s most dynamic rookies, going from special-teams standout to offensive difference-maker.
Top pass rusher Justin Houston is also expected to be available after missing the first meeting while recovering from knee surgery.
Oh, and this matchup with the Steelers (12-5) will be at loud Arrowhead Stadium rather than Heinz Field, and a spot in the AFC title game awaits the winner.
Falcons vs. Seahawks
As with any rematch, there are certainly things that both teams learned about each other the first time around.
Then again, so much will be different when the Atlanta Falcons host Seattle in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday. Especially for the Seahawks. Seattle found a running game in its playoff opener, and quarterback Russell Wilson appears as healthy as he’s been all season.
Yet the defense looks a lot less imposing without safety Earl Thomas, out for the season with a broken leg.
Most significantly, this game will be at the Georgia Dome, costing the Seahawks perhaps the most imposing home-field advantage in the NFL. A 2624 victory over the Falcons in Week 6 was at the Link.
“We’ve got the best fans in the world,” said Wilson, no doubt mindful that Seattle is 8-1 at home this season but just 3-41 on the road. “We don’t take that for granted.”
In addition to having the fans on their side for the rematch, the Falcons look a bit different on the field.
The young defense, with as many as four rookie starters, has grown up considerably over the latter part of the season, even after a season-ending injury to its best cornerback, Desmond Trufant.
Vic Beasley, in particular, established himself as one of the league’s most dominant pass rushers.
“Both teams now are a better version of themselves than when we played back then,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn, a former defensive coordinator in Seattle.
Cowboys vs. Packers
Packers running back Ty Montgomery remembers vividly the time he scored a touchdown on the Dallas Cowboys’ home turf.
He was a kid playing Pop Warner football during halftime of a Cowboys game at Texas Stadium. Little Ty took the handoff near midfield, went up the middle and ran for a 60-yard touchdown.
Now Montgomery, who is from Dallas, has a chance to do it again, but this time as an NFL player. Green Bay travels to Dallas on Sunday for a divisional round playoff game at the Cowboys’ current home, AT&T Stadium.
“I always had dreams of playing at Cowboys Stadium. I remember, specifically up to this day ... having a dream of playing running back in Texas Stadium,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t know that AT&T was going to be built.”
He’ll get a good look at the Cowboys’ spacious and glitzy home on Sunday.
A trip home to Texas is fitting in a season in which Montgomery switched from receiver to running back to help fill the void left by the season-ending ankle injury to Eddie Lacy in October.
Montgomery was a running back growing up. He was a running back in high school. He was switched to receiver in college at Stanford, and the Packers drafted him in the third round in 2015 as a receiver.
But Montgomery’s versatility remained an asset. The Packers initially viewed him as someone who might fill a role similar to that of receiver Randall Cobb earlier in his career. Cobb used to line up in the backfield with more frequency.
Montgomery had a breakout game in his new role, rushing for 162 yards and two scores on 16 carries in a 30-27 win on Dec. 18 against the Chicago Bears.