New England's offense faces its toughest scoring defense yet. Can the Texans' suffocating unit expose a potential weakness against the Patriots' star-studded attack?
The Houston Texans will take on the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional round this Sunday afternoon from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. It will be a matchup of the league's best overall defense (#1 in yards per game, #2 in points per game) vs. the league's third-best offense (#3 in yards per game, #2 in points per game).
However, there's an interesting caveat afoot that could prove pivotal if the Texans are looking for cracks in the Patriots' 14-3 armor. That would be the fact that New England hadn't played a top-10 scoring defense all season long, with their first time being against the Los Angeles Chargers in last week's AFC Wildcard round.
How Real is New England's Offense?
To be fair, the Patriots have played four teams that finished the regular season ranked top-10 in total yards allowed per game (Bills x2, Saints, Browns). Against those four, the Patriots went 3-1 while averaging 369.5 yards and 27.8 points per game.
However, against the Chargers' ninth-best scoring defense, the Patriots put up 381 total yards, but only 16 points were scored. While they racked up roughly 12 yards more than their season average against top yardage defenses, their scoring output was almost cut in half.
This is significant for Houston, because it sends a message that New England may not be as battle-tested as they need to be in order to contend with the likes of their ferocious "Swarm City" defense come this Sunday afternoon.
Recent Dominance By Houston
Keep in mind that the Texans' defense just held their AFC Wildcard opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to only 175 yards of total offense and only six points scored (via two field goals) in their home building. It was only the second time all season that Pittsburgh had been held to under 10 points while also accumulating less than 180 yards of total offense in the same game.
This will be the best defense that quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel have faced all year long. They certainly have weapons, like running back tandem Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, tight end Hunter Henry and a receiving trio in Kyle Williams, Kayshon Boutte and former Texan Stefon Diggs.
Yet, the Texans' defense will respond with at least three All-Pros, multiple Pro-Bowlers and a relentless mindset that will drive the unit to apply suffocating pressure for all 60 minutes of their meeting.
All they've done this year is be a nightmare to the best scoring offenses in football, as evidenced by how severely limited the point production was against Houston.
In six games against the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos (all top-10 scoring offenses), the Texans only gave up an average of 18.2 points per game.
Not only that, but the Texans' defense already faced Maye's Patriots in week six of last season to the tune of a 41-21 victory (also in Foxborough). Both teams have grown since then, but experience is experience.
The Patriots will be formidable, but Houston is prepared to show once again why they are widely considered one of the best defensive units of the last 20 years.
Buckle up, this might be a bumpy ride for the home team.
Do you think the Texans' defense can stop Maye and the Patriots? Let us know in the comments section below and by mentioning us at @Texans_RTB on X and @Texans.Roundtable on TikTok!