New England Patriots vs Houston Texans: 5 Matchups to Watch
By Hal Bent
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.