The New England Patriots will take on the free-falling Houston Texans this coming weekend at NRG Stadium. Houston failed to score in Week 4, so it should be motivated to play a whole lot better against the Patriots, who are also coming off a loss. Which team will get the W on Sunday? Check out our preview of this game below.
Although the Patriots lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 to the tune of a 19-17 score, they can still feel good about the performance of their rookie quarterback in Mac Jones. The former Alabama Crimson Tide QB stood his ground against the Bucs, as he passed for 275 yards and two touchdowns with an interception on 21/40 completions. He marched the team downfield despite a glaring lack of support from the Pats’ ground attack that finished with -7 rushing yards on eight carries. Houston’s soft defense should offer lots of chances for the Patriots’ running backs to atone for their anemic production in Week 4, though. The Texans are 28th in the NFL this season with 137.0 rushing yards allowed per game and second-worst with 2.0 rushing TDs given up per contest. The Pats’ stop unit that held the Bucs’ offense to below 20 points should have an easier time this time around against the Texans, who laid a big fat egg in Week 4.
The Pats are 14-2 against the spread in their last 16 games in Week 5.
A big fat egg, indeed. That’s what the Texans put up in Week 4’s embarrassing 40-0 road loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Texans have scored just nine points over their last two games and averaged only 10 points in their past three contests. Not scoring for an entire game is among the absolute worst things that could happen to a team, so there should be no way but up for the Texans. Davis Mills will continue to be the starter for the Texans, who, like the Pats, will have to get more from their running backs. Mark Ingram led Houston on the ground in Week 4 despite rushing for just 24 yards on six carries. There’s hope for Ingram, David Johnson, and Phillip Lindsay to produce out of the backfield against the Patriots, who gave up 119 rushing yards on 30 carries to Tampa Bay last Sunday.
The Texans are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games as an underdog.
