Everything You Need to Know About Patriots vs. Texans Week 6

Sunday is the most important Week 6 game in New England Patriots franchise history. After a miserable 1-4 start to the season, the Patriots have turned to Drake Maye, New England's third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, to take over the reins at quarterback.

The Patriots are coming off of an ugly 15-10 home loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 5. Facing a depleted Dolphins team, New England's continued struggles on the offensive side of the ball paved the way for Maye to supplant veteran Jacoby Brissett.

Following a Week 1 upset win on the road over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots have dropped four games in a row while averaging a measly 8.6 points per game in their last three outings.

On the away sideline, the Houston Texans are off to a 4-1 start after earning an appearance in the AFC Divisional round last season. The Texans won their Week 5 game on a Ka′imi Fairbairn 59-yard field goal as time expired to top the Buffalo Bills 23-20.

There are two different sides to this Week 6 matchup. On the one hand, much of the narrative surrounding this game is going to center around Drake Maye, what his performance means for the future of the Patriots and the long-term implications of his debut. On the other, there is still a football game to be played, and for 60 minutes on Sunday at Gillette Stadium all of that noise will be blocked out.

The first game of the Drake Maye era in New England is here. Here is everything that you need to know about Week 6 between the Patriots and Texans.

The Nuts and Bolts: Start Time, How to Watch, Etc.

• Home: New England Patriots
• Road: Houston Texans
• Venue: Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, Mass.
• Date: Oct. 13, 2024
• Time: 1:00 PM Eastern (noon Central, 10 a.m. Pacific)
• TV Coverage: CBS
• Radio: 98.5 FM The Sports Hub

Patriots vs. Texans Prediction

Predicting this game with Drake Maye making his first career start presents its challenges. At North Carolina, Maye had a reputation as the type of player who would make plays for both teams by taking risks with off-platform throws and an overeagerness to make plays (think early Josh Allen). It remains to be seen whether the Patriots will allow him to play free or if the coaching staff has tried to coach him into a more conservative mold.

Additionally, will Alex Van Pelt dial up a different offensive scheme with Maye under center? How different would that look? Van Pelt's West Coast offense differs from the spread style that Maye ran at North Carolina, so the play calling (and how it compares to Brissett as QB) is something to key in on.

A lot of concern about Maye taking over the starting role was due to New England's porous offensive line, a valid concern as Jacoby Brissett was sacked 17 times – tied for third-most in the league – and took his fair share of hits. However, New England's offensive line had their best game of the season last week. This week will reveal whether that was a one-off or if the coaching staff is onto something with a reorganized combination. Plagued by injuries, the unit is also on track to start the same five offensive linemen in consecutive weeks for the first time all season.

Houston is averaging three sacks per game, tied for eight-most in the league.

Interestingly, while Maye was the starter at North Carolina, the Tar Heels allowed the most pressures of any FBS school during that span. Now, Maye isn't going up against Georgia Tech engineering majors anymore, but at least playing with defenders in his face isn't something completely foreign to the rookie.

As far as the Texans are concerned, Houston leads the league in passing yards per game. New England's defense ranks 25th in passing yards per game. Based on that alone, it would seem pretty obvious that Bobby Slowik and the Texans offense would like to air it out on Sunday. With leading receiver Nico Collins out of the mix, how much does that affect Houston's offense?

Ultimately, New England's offense looks better with Maye and should put up more points than their 31st-ranked 12.4 points per game, but the Texans are clearly the superior team. Despite ranking sixth in the league in offensive yards per game, Houston's yardage hasn't entirely correlated to points (19th with 20.4 points per game). The Patriots should be able to bend, don't break in the red zone and keep Houston from putting up too many points.

Prediction: Texans 27, Patriots 17

Patriots vs. Texans Injury Report

New England's injury report featured 13 names (including two non-participants) on Wednesday. Kyle Dugger, who sustained an ankle injury in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers, is still not practicing. Rhamondre Stevenson was a surprising DNP due to a foot injury – possibly on this play against the Dolphins last week. Stevenson's status is certainly something to keep an eye on throughout the week, as the Patriots would assuredly prefer to run the ball effectively to help protect Drake Maye.

If Stevenson can't go, Antonio Gibson has been more than serviceable as the second running back, averaging 5.9 yards per carry and ran the ball six times for 52 yards in Week 5.

K.J. Osborn was also limited in practice after being inactive for last Sunday's game vs. Miami. Wideout Kendrick Bourne is someone else to watch as he continues to work back to full speed while returning from the PUP list with a torn ACL suffered last season. Bourne has been one of the Patriots' best receivers over the past few seasons, but only had one catch for 6 yards against the Dolphins while playing a modest 16 percent of the offensive snaps. It will be interesting to see if he gets an increased workload this week.

On Houston's side, 13 players (including 9 DNP's) were listed on Wednesday's injury report. Star receiver Stefon Diggs was limited, but since it was rest-related there isn't any reason to believe that will affect his availability for Sunday. Running back Joe Mixon was listed as DNP with an ankle injury that has kept him out since Week 2, so unless a drastic change of events takes place, Cam Akers should to continue to get the lion's share of carries.

Four-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil did not practice on Wednesday after suffering an ankle injury in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Tunsil played 100 percent of Houston's offensive snaps in Week 5 his lack of participation would indicate a precautionary approach.

Also of note, the Texans will be without leading receiver Nico Collins, who was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday with a hamstring injury.

By 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday, the game-status report (within which players are designated as questionable, doubtful, or out) must be submitted, so more clarity will be provided on who fans can expect to see on the field on Sunday.

Weather Report: Cloudy Skies On Drake Maye's Bright Future?

The preview of this Week 6 game will involve a lot of discussion around Drake Maye's bright future in the NFL, but don't expect those same conditions in Foxborough.

An afternoon shower is currently forecasted for Sunday at Gillette Stadium, with a 68 percent chance of precipitation reported. However, current projections indicate that it should be one shower rolling through, rather than consistent rain throughout the game.

Forecast accuracy will increase as the week progresses and a more accurate timeline will determine exactly when during the game this shower could hit – or the shower may even hold off until after the final play.

Patriots vs. Texans Betting Odds

Spread: HOU -7 (-110) | NE +7 (-110)
Moneyline: HOU (-320) | NE (+260)
Total: 38.5 — Over (-108) | Under (-115)

Houston is currently favored by a touchdown over the Patriots in Sunday's game. The only larger Week 6 spread is the 9.5-point spread favoring the Philadelphia Eagles over the Cleveland Browns. As is becoming custom for New England's games in 2024, the 38.5 total ranks towards the lowest across the league this week – only Chargers-Broncos (35.5) and Steelers-Raiders (36.5) are projected to be lower-scoring.

A $10 bet on the Texans' moneyline would win $3.13, while a $10 bet on the Patriots' moneyline would win $26.

The Patriots and Texans are both 1-3-1 against the spread in 2024, while the over is 2-3 in New England's games and 1-4 in Houston's.

Patriots vs. Texans Matchup History

Sunday will be the 15th meeting between the Patriots and Texans. New England holds an 11-3 advantage in the series, which has included two Divisional Playoff matchups – in 2013 and 2017 (both Patriot victories).

New England won the most recent contest between the two teams in Week 5 of the 2021 season, edging out Houston 25-22 on a Nick Folk 21-yard field goal with 15 seconds left. The Patriots finished the 2021 season 10-7 and earned a playoff berth, while the Texans struggled to a 4-13 record.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.