Texans ready to take on Brady
After having 21 players on injured reserve in ’17, team eyes turnaround
Foxborough, Mass. Injuries prevented the Texans from finding out exactly what their team could have been last season.
Star defensive end J.J. Watt, linebacker Whitney Mercilus and quarterback Deshaun Watson were among 21 Houston players that spent time on injured reserve during the 2017 campaign. The season predictably imploded, ending with six straight losses.
But before the avalanche of injuries, the Texans gave the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots all they could handle during a Week 3 visit to Gillette Stadium.
Despite having a rookie signal caller in Watson, the Texans’ offense matched touchdowns with the Patriots. Houston was headed for an improbable victory before Tom Brady rescued his team with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks in the final minute to give New England a 36-33 victory.
Now healed and with a revamped defense, the Texans return to New England on Sunday, hoping to put their misfortunes in the past as they open the 2018 season.
“I’m just looking forward to playing football again,” Watt said.
Meanwhile, the Patriots begin yet another season as the favorite in a conference they have dominated for nearly two decades thanks to Brady. He’s now 41, but has yet to show any signs of diminished capacity coming off an MVP season.
He’ll have a new-look receiving corps following the offseason departures of Danny Amendola and Cooks, as well as the four-game suspension of Julian Edelman for violating the NFL’S policy on performance enhancers.
Houston is one of four teams New England has an undefeated regular-season home record against (4-0). The Pats also have won the past five regular-season meetings with the Texans overall.
Brady has an 8-1 record against Houston, passing for 22 touchdowns and 2,565 yards (regular season and playoffs).
Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower will be playing in his first regular-season game since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last October. He said he’s excited about the challenge of trying to contain Watson, who had his way with the Patriots in their meeting last season, passing for 301 yards and two TDS. Hightower said putting pressure on Watson early will be key to trying to slow him down.
“I think that’s the biggest thing ... just not letting those guys get comfortable inside the pocket,” Hightower said. “Hopefully we’ll do a good job this week containing him in the run and pass game.”