New England Patriots vs Houston Texans: What are the injuries?

The Houston Texans and the New England Patriots are at opposite ends of the injury spectrum heading into their Week 13 primetime tilt.

While the New England Patriots were forced to list a season-high 18 different players on their final injury report of Week 13, per the team’s official website, the Houston Texans had just five players listed on their final report before the weekend.

Each team has one player listed as being “out” for the game already. The Texans have another player listed as “doubtful,” and the three remaining names on their list are all “questionable.” For the Patriots, 17 other names are listed as “questionable” for Sunday night, while no one is listed as “doubtful.”

Let’s start with the Texans.

Houston defensive end Carlos Watkins will not play against the Patriots because of a hamstring injury. His absence isn’t ideal for the Texans, but Watkins is still behind Brandon Dunn and Angelo Blackson on the depth chart at defensive end for Houston anyway. The problem if you’re a Texans fan is that Blackson himself is questionable for the game with a shoulder injury.

Add it all up, and the Houston defensive line isn’t quite as healthy as Texans fans would like it to be versus Tom Brady and the Patriots offense. When Brady and his line have been bothered this season, the New England offense has looked particularly inept and ineffective.

Luckily (for Patriots fans) both the line and Brady are in store for a better showing this week, now that Isaiah Wynn is back in action (with a full game under his belt against Dallas) and several New England wideouts look primed to return to the field as well. More on that later.

Houston offensive lineman Tytus Howard is doubtful for the game against New England with a knee injury. That’s significant for the Texans since their offensive line has been an area of weakness during the Bill O’Brien era. Even though the line has improved this season since the addition of Laremy Tunsil through trade at left tackle, it’s still far from impervious against pressure. On three separate occasions already, the Texans have allowed Deshaun Watson to get sacked six times in a game.

If the Patriots can get six sacks on Watson this Sunday night on the road, New England most likely will win the ballgame. Having Howard doubtful for this all-important matchup is critical – you’re absolutely rooting for him to be able to play through the pain if you’re a diehard Texans fan.

Finally, Houston has two other players listed as questionable for this game, and they’re both on defense. Cornerback Gareon Conley, the former Oakland Raider, has a hip injury that’s bothering him, and linebacker Brennan Scarlett has a shoulder injury. Both players were limited in practice this week.

The Texans defense can ill afford to lose both these players on Sunday, considering they’ve struggled all season long to shut down opposing passing attacks. Houston is the eighth-worst passing defense in the league; they should get a boost though from the return of top corner Bradley Roby, who is returning to action this week against New England after missing several weeks with a hamstring injury.

The Patriots have officially listed Ryan Izzo as being out for this game, which isn’t at all surprising or distressing news for Bostonians. Izzo is battling an illness that fans have deemed “the Foxborough Flu” because of its rapid spread throughout the New England locker room this week. The contagion has dominated headlines all week, though it appears that most of the Patriots players are on the path to recovery at least.

Izzo was inactive last week against the Cowboys anyway, so he doesn’t represent a significant personnel loss. The Patriots will turn to Benjamin Watson and Matt LaCosse in his absence at tight end.

Of the 17 other names listed on New England’s injury report, 10 play on defense and seven play on offense. Nine of those 17 players are listed as battling illness.

Wide receivers Julian Edelman (shoulder), Phillip Dorsett (concussion), Mohamed Sanu (ankle), and Matthew Slater (hamstring) all found their names listed on the injury report.

Dorsett’s inclusion was a bit surprising given the news on Wednesday that he had reportedly cleared concussion protocol, but perhaps the Patriots are still taking it easy with working him back into the rotation. It would be a surprise if he didn’t return to the starting lineup as Brady’s deep threat on Sunday.

Edelman has been a regular on the injury report since Week 3 of this season with various injuries, most notably to his shoulder and his chest. Outside of the last couple quarters against the New York Jets in Week 3, he’s played most of the Patriots’ offensive snaps. He’ll be out there Sunday versus the Texans.

Sanu is the wild card of the group. There was speculation that he’d be able to tough it out and play last Sunday against the Cowboys – in fact, he was even a game-time decision. Ultimately the Patriots training staff decided not to put him in the game; hopefully that choice pays dividends this week in allowing him to return to action against Houston all the more well-rested and healthy. The Patriots certainly need him back in their lineup.

Slater is the reigning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He probably won’t miss Sunday’s game against the Texans, but he also won’t play at wide receiver either. New England most likely will turn to a starting WR depth chart of Edelman, Dorsett, and Sanu if all three can play, with rookies N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers serving as the No. 4 and No. 5 wideouts, respectively.

Offensive linemen Isaiah Wynn, Marcus Cannon, and Jermaine Eluemunor were all listed on the injury report with illness. There’s a decent chance that Cannon was “Patient Zero” this week, as Bill Belichick made a point of praising Cannon for playing through his illness last Sunday against the Cowboys. The hope is that both Wynn and Cannon can play against the Texans, as they represent New England’s top options at the two tackle spots along the offensive line.

Defensively, linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, and Ja’Whaun Bentley all appeared on the Friday injury report. The first three have been afflicted by illness – Collins and Hightower were limited in practice, while Van Noy was absent altogether – whereas Bentley is dealing with a knee injury. All four players represent the starting options at LB for New England, so this situation bears careful monitoring over the weekend.

Safety Patrick Chung has injuries to his heel and chest that have been troubling him for weeks now, as well as the illness that’s going around the Patriots locker room. Chung has had a rough go of it recently on the injury and illness front; if he can’t play Sunday, more of the defensive onus shifts to Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, and Terrence Brooks to keep Houston playmakers like DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller in front of them… and out of the end zone.

Cornerback Jason McCourty is still dealing with a groin injury that sidelined him last week against Dallas. J.C. Jackson started in his place and held up well against Michael Gallup of the Cowboys; Jackson would most likely start for McCourty again if needed and match up against either Fuller or Kenny Stills from the Texans.

Top Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore is also dealing with illness, as is rookie and second-round draft pick Joejuan Williams. With injuries or illness affecting Gilmore, McCourty, and Williams, even more pressure is put on Jackson and Jonathan Jones – two second-year players – to hold down the New England secondary if needed.

Finally, defensive lineman Byron Cowart is dealing with a head injury and safety/special teamer Nate Ebner is contending with injuries to his ankle and back. Neither player is crucial to the Patriots’ fortunes on Sunday night against the Texans, however.