New England Patriots: 3 ways to avoid a Week 1 upset vs. Texans
By Ryan Feyre
The New England Patriots have a tough Week 1 matchup against the Houston Texans. Here are three ways Bill Belichick’s team can start the season with a win.
The last thing the New England Patriots want to see in Week 1 is a healthy Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt, especially after the drubbing they received in Super Bowl LII from Nick Foles.
Unfortunately, Bill Belichick has to deal with a feisty Houston Texans team on Sunday; the same squad that put up 33 in Foxboro in Week 3 of 2017 (despite losing by 3 because of another Tom Brady winning drive).
Not to mention, Watson is back from his ACL injury, meaning the guy that acquired two touchdowns and 300 yards passing in that Week 3 game is ready for round two against a middling New England defense.
Belichick most likely has some tricks up his sleeve, and will find any way he can to pull out a victory, even if it’s ugly.
Both teams experienced a lot of changes on defensive end, specifically with Matt Patricia leaving New England for the head coaching job in Detroit, and Romeo Crennel acquiring the new defensive coordinator job in Houston. There were many personnel changes as well, with Adrian Clayborn joining New England’s defensive line, and Tyronn Mathieu becoming the starting safety for the Texans.
Other than that, a lot’s stayed constant. Here, I look at three ways the New England Patriots can avoid a Week 1 upset at the hands of the Texans.
Solve Deshaun Watson
This should be priority one. According to ESPN, in 2017, Watson accumulated 19 total touchdowns in only six games! He was a rookie too! This all happened before tearing his ACL against the Seattle Seahawks in week 6. In fact, during that Seattle game, Deshaun Watson averaged 13 yards per pass, leading to 402 yards in all.
However, if the Pats put pressure on him in Week 1, then the second-year player may make mistakes. In the six games he played, Watson also accumulated eight interceptions, and two of those were against New England, and three were against a then tough Seattle defense that still featured Richard Sherman.
Thankfully for Belichick, he’s got Adrian Clayborne and Trey Flowers on the edge rushing (not to mention a healthy Dont’a Hightower on that line as well). On top of that, the Texans are projected to have the worst offensive line in the NFL once again for the upcoming regular season, according to Pro Football Focus. The highest overall grade any of them received on the line happened to be a 68, which is where left guard Zach Fulton finished around.
Clayborn could be the key factor here for rushing the quarterback, as he famously recorded six sacks in one game against one of the Dallas Cowboys’ backup guards while he was still with Atlanta. Sure Watson can run, but he still may be rusty from being sidelined since last October. Getting him out of rhythm is the key to a better start for the Pats defense.