New England Patriots vs Houston Texans: Game Three Preview and Prediction
By Hal Bent
WHAT IS THE HIDDEN KEY TO THE GAME?
One player who was not on the Houston defense who has not received a lot of attention heading into this match-up is their second-round draft pick Zach Cunningham. Cunningham is a smaller linebacker who looks more like a safety on the field standing six-foot-four but weighing just 215 pounds.
This week the rookie is going to have take over for the suspended Brian Cushing and face tight end Rob Gronkowski in coverage. Cunningham was brought in as a coverage linebacker, so even if he is not matched-up with Gronkowski he is likely to be chasing Dion Lewis and James White in coverage.
Cunningham acquitted himself well against a hobbled Tyler Eifert last week, but Eifert is not the player he once was just a few years ago. Cunningham has excellent length and athleticism and brings to mind Cowboys safety Byron Jones who in 2015 was able to frustrate Gronkowski in coverage utilizing his strength, long arms and aggressive coverage to hold him check much of the game.
Cunningham–like Elandon Roberts in New England–may be a target in the running game. If New England can get a guard pulling to the second-level and engaging Cunningham he could be liability and allow the Patriots to break off some big plays running the football.