Houston Texans v New England Patriots: AFC Divisional Round NFL playoff – live
So I have just been listening to Patriots owner Robert Kraft say his team are BACK,A little strong but he’s hardly going to say he’s not sure when asked if they are,New England have certainly been very good after cooking up a brilliant 14-3 season while just missing out on the AFC’s top seed,They certainly seem like they are on more solid ground now with Drake Maye at the controls with club man Mike Vrabel coaching compared to the very false dawn they had with Mac Jones,Jones, now backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco, helped earn New England’s most recent playoff visit after Tom Brady left the building.
It didn’t last long as the Buffalo Bills demolished them 47-17 in the wildcard round.So last week Maye delivered New England’s first playoff win since the 13-3 Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams in the 2018 season.Another win here will make it feel a lot closer to the Foxborough juggernaut being truly back.After polishing off my leftover ribs from the BBQ establishment I watched Buffalo v Denver in, I can’t help but recall the ending to the Broncos’ victory in Mile High.That pivotal moment in overtime when Josh Allen found Brandin Cooks near the end zone but somehow Ja’Quan McMIllian smuggled it away for an interception that took a game-winning field goal from Buffalo and gave Bo Nix a platform for Denver to win.
It was quite breathtakingly bonkers.If you are still scratching your head a little at the frentetic, thrilling end to thee 33-30 win, then allow NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson to explain.His take starts at about the 1min 55sec mark.I am going to preface this post by stating that neither the Texans or Patriots will take facing the Broncos’ terrifying defense lightly but Nix’s broken ankle puts them at a huge advantage for making the Super Bowl if they win today.The intensity was surely already going to be sky high, now it feels like it will only be higher still with such a large incentive hanging within reach if they can just snatch the victory.
But first, before the spoils of victory can be doled out, the storylines heating up the action in Foxborough.We have the NFL’s likely MVP and New England quarterback Drake Maye v the toughest challenge he has faced this season in Houston’s bone-crunching defense.Maye’s opposite number CJ Stroud v history for the Texans who have never been past this round in the playoffs with the quarterback stumbling at this stage twice before.And finally, will Houston or New England have the greater advantage with Texans No 1 Nico Collins and Patriots No 1 cornerback Christian Gonzalez missing out …Hi and hello football fans, welcome to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs aka the best weekend in footballTM.A distinction that is the best kind of cliche, totally apt and one you never get tired of hearing.
How could it not be? The best eight franchises are duking it out for a chance to fight for a Conference crown, what is not to love? Well, if you are involved with the Denver Broncos then losing your starting quarterback Bo Nix for the AFC Championship game with a broken ankle is definitely sub-optimal.Things went a little better for the Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, who will be absolutely delighted with how comprehensively they dominated the San Francisco 49ers (again) over in the NFC.Tonight’s action takes us to frigid Foxborough for a titanic matchup between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots.Kick-off is at 2pm CST/3pm EST/8pm GMT.Neither the No 2 seed Patriots or the No 5 seed Texans had much of a challenge last week.
You could argue Pittsburgh had a chance against Houston but I would argue that even at 7-6 the scoreline was comfortable considering the immense level DeMeco Ryans’ defense was playing at.The less said about the Chargers meek output against the Patriots the better.The upshot for us is that each team should be fresh for their first real test.Sparks will hopefully fly!Oh and how about what legendary receiver Randy Moss and his pals think about the game? Because, why not?
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