BY HAL BENT -
The Houston Texans were a favorite this season to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl in the preseason. “Super Bowl or Bust” was the rallying cry of the Texans. After jumping out to a 2-0 start to the season, the Texans got blown out by the defending world champion Ravens starting a 0-9 slide. Now the Patriots come to Houston to try and end their three game road losing streak this season in a game that looked like a big matchup before the season, but now looks like a mismatch.
Hold it right there. There is no such thing as a mismatch in the NFL. At home, after losing to Jacksonville, the Texans are a team on a mission playing for pride at home this weekend against their arch-enemy. Every pundit is pointing to an easy Patriots win, but this game could be a lot more difficult to win for New England and the final result a lot closer than anyone anticipates.
The Texans slide kicked off with the blowout against Baltimore in week three, but in week four they lost to Seattle in a game they should have won. The Texans lost to the Chiefs by one point in week seven, by three to the Colts the next week, by three to Arizona in week ten, by five to Oakland and by a touchdown last week. A few bounces, a few big plays, a little luck and the Texans could have seven or eight wins right now like everyone expected.
In addition, the Patriots are traveling 2,000 miles and are coming off two highly-charged, emotional games against strong opponents. If there was ever a chance for a letdown, this is the kind of game it would happen. For the Patriots, this is still a dangerous opponent who would love nothing more than beating the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Here are two major areas where the Patriots need to play their best this afternoon against the Texans in order to win the game: CLICK HERE FOR MUCH MORE: http://musketfire.com/2013/12/01/houston-texans-may-put-scare-new-england-patriots-sunday/
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