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.
Attack the perimeters on offense
Let’s be honest, if I’m the New England Patriots, I don’t mess with J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Jadeveon Clowney up front. Run the ball as least as possible. Houston is projected to have the sixth best defensive line in the NFL, according to NFL.com. If Watt can return to that 20 sack guy before his own injury woes, than they could be even better.
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With that in mind, Brady should be throwing the ball 35-40 times again, like he did in that Week 3 contest. The Texans are expected to have a bottom ten secondary, and a young one at that, so any veteran edge New England may have will come in handy throughout all four quarters.
Yes, this is one of the weakest receiving corps Brady’s ever had to play with, but Rob Gronkowski will feed off of any mismatch. In the last contest, he dominated Houston with eight catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. If he gets free, it’ll be tough for anyone to cover him, especially since Gronk is so hard to bring down.
This is also a good time for someone like Hogan to break out, especially with Julian Edelman sidelined for the first four games. On top of that, whoever Kevin Johnson is covering should have a field day. The Wake Forest alum was the worst rated cornerback in the NFL and allowed a passer rating of 137 in 2017, according to Pro Football Focus.
Yeah, I think Brady and co. will be alright in this regard. As long as they don’t run the ball often. Even try to get James White in the open maybe. Either way, when Tom Brady is in a rhythm, no one can stop him.
3. PROTECT BRADY
I think I’ve said this enough, right? And if not, everyone other Pats fan has. The guy is 41, and our offensive line does not feature Nate Solder anymore. Which means his blindside is not as protected as it once was.
To be honest, this is probably the first year in the Brady-Belichick where the left side of the line is this questionable. The last thing anyone wants to see is Terrific Tom on the ground more than five times in this game (which is plausible with that Houston defensive line).
Simply put, if Trent Brown is as good as coaches say he is, then Brady will stay upright, and the Patriots will pull out a week 1 win. Fingers crossed.