Texans try to end streak

Houston hopes topranked defense can slow No. 1 AFC seed.

Houston will be facing an enormous challenge against New England Patriots tonight: The Texans are 1-7 against the Patriots and winless in New England alltime, including a shutout loss earlier this season when Pats quarterback Tom Brady was out because of a suspension. The Patriots are 15½-point favorites.

FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — The Houston Texans face an enormous challenge tonight against the New England Patriots.

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 151/2-point 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 top-ranked defense.

But how does Houston, which lost 27-0 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.

Here are some other things to watch for:

Miller time: Houston RB Lamar Miller returned against the Raiders after missing two weeks with an ankle injury. He finished with 73 yards and a touchdown, but was unhappy with his performance after averaging just 2.4 yards a carry after averaging 4 per run in the regular season.

“This past game ... I was kind of rusty for not playing the last two weeks,” he said. “I’m just trying to get comfortable with everything. This week, I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Miller has been a rare bright spot on a Houston offense that has struggled to move the ball and finished the regular season ranked 10th with 1,073 yards rushing.

Clowney’s contribution: Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s breakout regular season helped Houston’s defense not only stay afloat, but it entered the playoffs ranked first in the NFL despite the loss of superstar J.J. Watt to season-ending back surgery after just three games. Clowney had 16 tackles for losses, 17 quarterback hits and six sacks during the regular season, but saved his biggest play for last week.

The top overall pick in the 2014 draft had his first career interception in the win over the Raiders to set up Houston’s first touchdown in the 27-14 win. Clowney and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who had two sacks last week, talked about building on what they did against the Raiders.

“I said: ‘We got to keep doing this as long as we’re going to keep winning these games,’ ” Clowney said.

Blount’s health: Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount has taken a lot of pressure off Brady this season, rushing for a New England single-season record 18 touchdowns and career-high 1,161 yards. But he may not be at 100 percent after missing two straight days of practice with an illness.

Amendola returns: Brady’s receiving group is as healthy as it’s been in a long time thanks to the return of Danny Amendola to full participation in practice this week. Amendola sat out the final four regular-season games because of an ankle injury.

Amendola said he’s had no setbacks since his return.

“The playoffs is what you play for,” he said. “It’s why everybody’s here. It’s what we’ve been waiting on all year. And we’re ready to go.”

AP The Patriots routed the Texans 27-0 early in the season despite quarterback Tom Brady missing the game because of his NFL-imposed suspension.