New England Patriots
The Patriots can have their arms full with Will Anderson Jr. and the remainder of the fearsome Texans protection, however they need to be up for the problem.
Welcome to Season 14, Episode 19 of the Unconventional Preview, a severe but lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted have a look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup …
Drake Maye has dealt with a lot so properly in his first full season because the Patriots’ beginning quarterback that it’s really enjoyable to see how the Most Useful Participant candidate navigates new challenges and obstacles.
One of many refrains about him early within the season was, “Sure, he’s clearly proficient, however when will he begin main the Patriots to some wins?” The Patriots went 3-9 in his begins final 12 months — and in solely one of many wins (towards the Bears) did he play the complete recreation. Then the Patriots began 1-2 this season within the introduction of the Mike Vrabel period.
Properly, he began successful video games, and actually hasn’t stopped from there. The Patriots enter Sunday afternoon’s divisional matchup with the Texans having gained 14 of their final 15 video games, including a 16-3 wild-card win over the Chargers. Alongside the best way, Maye handed take a look at after take a look at — beating the defending division champs on the street (Buffalo, Week 5), main a fourth-quarter comeback to a different longtime foe (Baltimore, Week 16), and offering sufficient highlights alongside the best way to allow you to kill an hour on YouTube.
Now comes the hardest take a look at, towards a Texans group that features arguably the best and almost certainly the meanest defense in the league. In collaboration with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, he’s going to need to be at his finest Sunday. It’s a giant problem, an enormous impediment to navigate. And also you what? We will’t wait to see how he goes about it.
Kick it off, Borregales, and let’s get this factor began …
THREE PLAYERS WORTH WATCHING OTHER THAN THE QUARTERBACKS
Will Anderson Jr.: When Mike Vrabel was requested in his Wednesday media availability if the Texans’ protection is the perfect his group has confronted this season, the Patriots’ coach was matter-of-fact in his response.
“Yeah, in fact,’’ he mentioned. “I imply, they’ve nice expertise, nice scheme, they play onerous, and I respect how onerous they play. They’re not solely proficient, however they’ve a play demeanor that I can admire.”
For the entire discuss concerning the Patriots’ comfortable schedule, they’ve performed some first rate or higher defenses this season — the Chargers, Payments, and Browns ranked within the high 14 in fewest factors allowed. However Vrabel could possibly be so informal in affirming that the Texans are the perfect as a result of it is the apparent fact.
Maye and the Patriots’ offense have confronted nothing just like the vicious chaos the Texans — who ranked first in complete protection (277.2 yards per recreation) and second in factors allowed (17.4, trailing solely the Seahawks) — are able to bringing, significantly with the move rush. Their season relies on properly they deal with it.
Anderson, the No. 3 total pick of Alabama in 2023 — a choose after the Texans chosen Stroud — is a pressure of nature, a strong and impossibly fast finish who completed with 12 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, and three pressured fumbles in the course of the common season. Towards the Steelers, he contributed a half-sack, a pressured fumble, and laid three QB hits on Aaron Rodgers, who appeared prepared to start his inevitable subsequent profession as a gasbag podcast host earlier than the fourth quarter was half over.
Alarmingly, a minimum of when you’re a Patriots coach charged with arising with a scheme to sluggish these guys, Anderson didn’t even lead the Texans in sacks this 12 months. That accomplishment belonged to veteran Danielle Hunter, who completed with 15 of the Texans’ 47 sacks whereas registering 22 QB hits, and forcing 3 fumbles. Solely the Browns’ Myles Garrett (a report 23 sacks, together with 5 towards the Patriots) and the Giants’ Brian Burns (16.5) compiled extra. Hunter, like Anderson, was a menace towards Rodgers and the Steelers, with a sack, a pressured fumble, and two QB hits.
The Patriots’ line, significantly rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson on the left facet, must be significantly better than they have been versus the Chargers. Campbell struggled at left sort out towards Chargers move rusher Odafe Oweh, who sacked Maye 3 times and compelled a pair of fumbles.
The Chargers sacked Maye 5 instances in complete, and as Cris Collinsworth noticed on NBC’s broadcast, Campbell was usually pushed again manner too near Maye even when he fulfilled his blocking task.
He have to be significantly better Sunday afternoon towards Anderson, whose abilities he is aware of properly — they performed towards one another in faculty in 2022, when Campbell was a freshman starter at Louisiana State and Anderson a junior All-American at Alabama.
Stefon Diggs: A lot of the discourse within the buildup to this recreation has been, rightfully, about how the Patriots’ offense would possibly counter the Texans’ aggression, particularly the aforementioned move rush.
Maye’s operating skill, which was a significant factor towards the Chargers (10 carries, game-high 66 yards), is one thing the Patriots can lean on considerably, particularly when the Texans are in man-to-man protection. However given the viciousness of their protection, which has taken on the taking part in model of coach and former linebacker DeMeco Ryans, it’s most likely dangerous to present Maye an excessive amount of of a operating workload, significantly since he’s not precisely Rickey Henderson with regards to sliding in safely.
Working backs Rhamondre Stevenson, who has been sensational over the previous 5 weeks, and TreVeyon Henderson ought to have some success on the bottom, however the yardages gained’t come straightforward towards linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and the Texans’ fourth-ranked run protection (93.7 yards per recreation).
So how else can the Patriots transfer the ball? Maybe by leaning on their most skilled participant with regards to huge video games, and one who has delivered in such eventualities earlier than. Diggs is tops amongst all Patriots in postseason video games — this can be his sixteenth. He has usually come by with huge performances within the playoffs, simply as he did in a few the Patriots’ larger video games in the course of the common season (10 catches for 146 yards within the Patriots’ Week 5 declaration of legitimacy with a win at Buffalo, 9 catches for 138 yards within the Week 16 comeback towards the Ravens).
He has 4 100-yard performances within the postseason, 71 catches for 925 yards and 4 touchdowns total, and, in fact, authored one of many extra memorable performs in fashionable postseason historical past, the Minneapolis Miracle to elevate the Vikings over the Saints on the ultimate play of the sport within the 2017 postseason. With 75 yards Sunday, Diggs would turn into the 18th participant and third Patriot (becoming a member of Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman) to achieve the 1,000 receiving yards within the postseason.
However this isn’t about milestones. It’s about what the Patriots want from him towards a worthy opponent. Diggs, who spent final season with the Texans, constructed an instantaneous rapport with Maye. With fast throws a necessity to neutralize that Texans’ rush, Diggs needs to be each Maye’s safety blanket and an efficient weapon towards a protection that has pressured 29 turnovers this season, together with 19 interceptions.
Milton Wiliams: For the entire legitimate discuss concerning the excellence of the Texans’ protection, it needs to be remembered — in nationwide circles, a minimum of — that the Patriots are coming off a totally dominating defensive efficiency of their very own.
Of their 16-3 win within the wild-card spherical final Sunday night time, the Patriots principally turned Chargers star quarterback Justin Herbert into the modern-day Tony Eason, pummeling him with 11 quarterback hits and sacking him six instances.
The defining picture of the Patriots’ first playoff win since 2018 may need been Williams smothering Herbert on the Gillette Stadium turf on fourth down with 2 minutes remaining within the recreation. Poor Herbert appeared like he wanted to take stock of his physique elements earlier than peeling himself up.
Williams had two sacks within the recreation, which matches the 2 sacks he had in his final playoff recreation — the Eagles’ throttling of the Chiefs in Tremendous Bowl LIX final February, when he performed such an impressive recreation that it was completely logical for the Patriots to present him a $104 million contract as a free agent.
He’s been price each greenback, and chances are high he can be once more Sunday. Stroud will be erratic underneath strain — he fumbled 5 instances, dropping two, towards the Steelers, who sacked him 3 times and utilized fixed strain.
THE FLASHBACK
This would be the sixteenth total assembly between the Patriots and Texans, with New England going 9-4 within the common season and 2-0 within the postseason.
The playoff victories have been each divisional-round video games — a 41-28 win in January 2013, and a 34-16 win in January 2017.
However neither of the playoff victories was essentially the most memorable matchup. That must be the Patriots’ 42-14 thumping of the Texans on “Monday Night time Soccer” in Week 14 of the 2012 season.
A Texans participant named Shaun Cody had cooked up the concept of getting custom-made letterman jackets for everybody on the group to put on to the sport. The intent was apparently so as to add patches acknowledging accomplishments to the jackets because the season went on. However the Patriots’ victory was so decisive that the jackets immediately grew to become a punchline, and have been by no means seen once more after that night time.
My most vivid reminiscence from overlaying that recreation isn’t Donte Stallworth’s 63-yard landing reception or Brandon Lloyd’s fumble restoration for a landing, however the postgame imaginative and prescient of J.J. Watt storming by the bowels of Gillette Stadium on the best way to the group bus, carrying that letterman jacket for what nearly actually was the final time.
GRIEVANCE OF THE WEEK
Presumably, most Patriots followers have been rooting for the Steelers to beat the Texans final Monday night time. There have been a number of legitimate causes to take action: It might give the Patriots an opportunity to avenge their five-turnover loss in Week 3, keep away from this vicious Houston protection, and most significantly, be the fortunate group that received to finish Rodgers’s season, and maybe his profession. Sadly for the Patriots (and Rodgers, I suppose), the Texans did the honors, scoring 23 unanswered fourth-quarter factors in a 30-6 win.
PREDICTION, OR I’LL ALWAYS WONDER HOW MUCH PERSONNEL SAY NICK CASERIO REALLY HAD WITH BILL BELICHICK …
The Patriots are as wholesome as they’ve been shortly, whereas the Texans are seemingly with out stalwart receiver Nico Collins. Nonetheless, it’s onerous to examine this as something however a tense, hard-hitting recreation that comes right down to the fourth quarter. A Stroud mistake is the distinction. Patriots 17, Texans 13.
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