Houston Texans

New England Patriots vs Houston Texans: 5 Matchups to Watch

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:54 p.m. ET

Fansided, Hal Bent/FanSided via Musket Fire

The New England Patriots will be hosting the Houston Texans on Saturday night. Here are five matchups to watch.

The New England Patriots are coming off their well-earned bye week during Wild Card Weekend as they waited to see who would come to Foxboro to challenge them on Saturday night. After shutting down Oakland’s third-string rookie quarterback on Saturday, the Patriots saw the Pittsburgh Steelers crush the Miami Dolphins to set the stage for this Week 3 rematch.

Of course, things are different from that Thursday night matchup which New England won handily 27-0: J.J. Watt is on injured reserve for Houston; Rob Gronkowski is on injured reserve for New England; Jamie Collins was shipped off to Siberia Cleveland; and instead of a third-string rookie quarterback New England has the motivated and driven future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Tom Brady behind center.

As with any game there are so many matchups on the field that are going to have a huge impact on the game. Some great matchups include New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady matching wits against the excellent pair of safeties in Houston, Quintin Demps and Andre Hal; New England fullback James Develin butting heads with Texans inside linebacker Brian Cushing in the running game; Texans tight ends Ryan Griffin and CJ Fiedorowicz trying to get open against Patriots safety Patrick Chung; and the New England defensive ends (Trey Flowers, Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard, and Chris Long) testing the tackles for Houston with former Broncos Chris Clark and veteran Duane Brown.

As interesting and crucial those matchups would be go into further detail, there are more head-to-head battles which will swing the game and have even a larger impact on the final outcome of the game. With that, here are the five matchups to watch on Saturday night as the New England Patriots host the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs.

New England running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount vs Houston defensive tackle Vince Wilfork

Despite the loss of J.J. Watt to back surgery in October, the Houston Texans defense has been stout. Ranking 11th in fewest points allowed and first in fewest yards allowed, the Texans have made it tough on opponents to move the ball. At least when playing at home.

On the road the yards pile up and outside of their divisional opponents Indianapolis, Tennessee and Jacksonville, the Texans have not traveled well. Losses on the road to New England (with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback), Minnesota, Denver, Oakland, and Green Bay all featured stronger offenses moving the ball up-and-down the field with ease.

The Patriots’ offense is more balanced and with a balanced rushing attack featuring Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount. Blount carried the load early in the season and Lewis has provided a spark since returning.

Lewis has been effective with a 4.4 yards per rush average. Blount’s first postseason carry will put him at 300 for the season and he has been a red-zone threat with 18 touchdowns. With 1,161 yards, the reduced workload and the bye week last week should have helped get Blount’s tired legs back to strength.

Houston often is in the nickel putting extra emphasis on the front six to control the running game so they can keep all three cornerbacks on the field. That puts extra pressure on nose tackle Vince Wilfork to cover multiple gaps and make plays in the running game.

WIlfork has Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus on the outside setting the edge and will funnel ball-carriers to inside linebackers Benardrick McKinney and Brian Cushing. Up front Wilfork will usually have more pressure on him without Watt to penetrate and make plays.

The rest of the Houston defensive line is weak. Christian Covington and D.J. Reader are solid but unspectacular. They can tie-up interior offensive linemen, but really stopping the run is heavily dependent on Wilfork’s gapping ability and using his strength to re-route the running backs. If Lewis and Blount get past Wilfork to the second-level, it could be a jailbreak running the ball for the Patriots.

New England wide receivers Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Michael Floyd and Malcolm Mitchell vs Houston cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson and A.J. Bouye

Amazingly, in Week 3 the Patriots won at home against Houston passing for less than 100 net yards. The expectation is that quarterback Brady should top 100 yards in the air by the beginning of the second quarter.

New England has one limited participant on the final injury report: rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. Mitchell hurt his knee in the week 16 blowout of the New York Jets. Since then, Arizona castoff Michael Floyd had been doing an excellent job of rehabilitating his image and setting himself up for a big offseason payout.

Danny Amendola is returning after missing almost a month to an ankle injury. Amendola was fourth on the team as far as playing time in the receiving group anyway, but his big value is on special teams (keeping starter Julian Edelman from having to return punts) and on third-down.

It was evident that Amendola has been a role player all season. However, with a team-leading 79.3% catch percentage, he is tops on the team for hauling in passes thrown his way. He is clearly trusted by Brady.

Chris Hogan has exceeded almost everyone’s expectations this season. With only 38 receptions, he has amassed 680 yards and four touchdowns: that equals an impressive 17.9 yards per reception. The deep threat the team has missed all season.

Edelman is the top dog at wide receiver and since the back injury leading Rob Gronkowski to injured reserve his targets have increased exponentially. When in doubt, Brady is looking to Edelman more and more this season. With 98 catches for 1,106 yards Edelman is a true number one receiver.

Houston boasts an extremely strong secondary to counter the New England receivers. ProFootballFocus.com rated the Texans as the eighth-best secondary in the NFL. They ranked cornerback A.J. Bouye–who is starting because starter Kevin Johnson ended-up on injured reserve–as second-best in the league at the position overall and first in the NFL in coverage.

On the other side, Johnathan Joseph has been a solid performer for a number of years. Add in veteran Kareem Jackson and the Texans are in good shape with three solid starting-level cornerbacks. The Texans–like the Patriots–play a ton of nickel defense letting their front-six handle the running game. A pair of strong edge rushers helps take pressure off the secondary.

With New England’s versatile receivers, this unit will have a lot of pressure on them. The Texans will mix and match their coverage with the opposing receivers. Bouye and Joseph are on the injury report but not expected to be limited during the game. If the shifty New England receivers impose their will on this group, it will be a long day for the Texans’ defense.

New England cornerback Malcolm Butler vs Houston wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins

As good as Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye has been, New England cornerback Malcolm Butler has been almost as good. In fact, considering Butler is often matching up against an opponent’s top receiver with little safety help, he may be even better.

Butler shook off an early season ankle injury to land fourth on ProFootballFocus.com’s cornerback rankings. Butler has four interceptions and 16 passes defended. More than that, he has taken on every top wide receiver and shown an incredible compete level. Butler never gives up on a play and shows excellent technique keeping his hands off a defender while maintaining position.

DeAndre Hopkins is easily one of the most athletic and talented wide receivers in the NFL. He has amazing body control on the sidelines. He has elite level speed. He can leap out of the stadium. He understands route concepts and runs precise routes from anywhere he lines up. He has great hands and pulls in passes many would be unable to get a hand on.

Unfortunately, he has been limited by not having a solid number two wide receiver and poor quarterback play. Hopkins still finished with 78 receptions for 954 yards in what looks like an off-season. Most of the blame has to go to quarterback Brock Osweiler and the lack of development of young receivers Will Fuller, Braxton Miller, and Jaelen Strong.

In Week 3 Butler and the New England secondary handled Hopkins allowing just four catches on eight targets for 56 yards (two of those catches were defended by Logan Ryan and one was just a ridiculous grab on the sidelines).

Houston needs a big game from Hopkins just to stay in the game and stay close with the New England offense. Without an elite quarterback and facing elite talent in the New England secondary, it could be another tough go for Hopkins.

New England linebacker Dont’a Hightower vs Houston running back Lamar Miller

A knee injury slowed Hightower at the end of the season and saw him miss Week 16 against the Jets (he was not even needed as New England rolled 41-3 on Christmas Eve). With a solid performance to knock off the rust in week seventeen against Miami, Hightower was assured an extra week of rest and has been completely removed from the injury report.

Hightower is one of the best run defenders in the NFL and has a knack for creating pressure on A-gap blitzes. He was on the ProFootballFocus.com second-team All Pro team. Hightower is excellent against the run with his massive size and lateral mobility.

He uses that deceptive speed and his high football IQ in zone pass coverage showing a knack for dropping back enough to prevent large gaps in the middle of the defense. His closing speed and hard-hitting style keep dump-off passes from being converted to first downs.

His run defense will be needed on Saturday night as the Texans will try to keep the ball away from quarterback Tom Brady by running the ball, extending drives, and winning the time of possession. To do that, they will lean on running back Lamar Miller.

Miller led the way for the Texans’ offense in 2016 after being signed as a free agent from Miami. Miller rushed for 1,073 yards and five touchdowns. A great receiver out of the backfield, he has strangely been underutilized as a receiver with just 31 catches for 188 yards.

Miller rushed 21 times for 80 yards in the Week 3 matchup. He is well known to the Patriots after his time in Miami. He is shifty, deceptively strong, and has great vision.

The Texans were 3-1 when Miller rushed for 100 yards or more. They were 7-2 when he rushed for 70 or more yards. With the iffy quarterback play all season, Miller is arguably the most consistent and valuable weapon they have in Houston.

His most powerful use is setting up the play-action passing game. Getting the safeties close to the line of scrimmage allows Houston to strike deep with Hopkins and Will Fuller. Without play-action, Brock Osweiler has problems fitting the ball into tight windows.

If Hightower is strong in the middle of the defense, the Patriots should be able to hold down the Texans’ offense.

New England offensive tackle Nate Solder vs Houston defensive end Jadeveon Clowney

Last week former number one draft pick outside linebacker/defensive end Jadeveon Clowney had his biggest game on the biggest stage of his career. Although he had no sacks, Clowney had an interception, two pass break-ups and a number of pressures.

The only caveat? Oakland had backup left tackle Menelik Watson starting for veteran two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn. That, and Oakland’s incompetent quarterback was third-string rookie Connor Cook making his first career start.

Clowney–who is still only 23 years old– finished with six sacks for the season after missing almost all of his rookie season and clearly getting back to full strength last year. He was voted second team All-NFL by the Associated Press this season.

To get after Brady, Clowney and Houston’s sack leader Whitney Mercilus will have to generate Von Miller type pressure on Brady. Mercilus is going against Marcus Cannon at right tackle and Cannon has been fantastic this season.

Clowney will face left tackle Nate Solder. Solder has been fantastic this season returning from a torn biceps injury which took him out of action in the fourth game of the season. Without Solder, the offensive line crumbled and cost the Patriots a chance for home field advantage in the playoffs and a trip back to the Super Bowl.

This year there has been minimal talk about Solder–exactly how the Patriots want it with their left tackle. Minimal sacks allowed. Minimal penalties. Just solid pass blocking and road-grading run blocking.

Clowney had a big game against an inferior opponent last week at home. This week he and the Texans have to return to their personal house of horrors in Foxboro and face a much improved pass blocking offensive line. If Clowney cannot get pressure–the Texans’ season will end on Saturday night.