The Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots Divisional matchup is expected to be a tight contest. It’ll be a potent Patriots offense going up against a dangerous Texans defense. Leading that offense is MVP candidate Drake Maye, widely backed around the league to go all the way this year. But Richard Sherman believes the Texans’ defense will end Maye’s journey for good this Sunday.
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Fans and analysts have been debating all week who will come out on top. The majority have favored the Patriots because of their dominance all season, finishing 15-3. But recently, others have begun to give the Texans’ elite defense more credit, noting their ten consecutive wins so far.
Sherman believes that the defense will ensure a Texans win, saying it’s even better than the LA Chargers, who somewhat gave the Pats a run for their money in the Wild Card.
“This Houston defense is better. They’re more aggressive. The Chargers sacked them 5 times. I would guess the Texans will be looking to do the same,” Sherman assessed on The Richard Sherman Pod.
Last week, the Texans sacked Aaron Rodgers four times in the Wild Card round. The pressure became a huge factor in the outcome of the game. Rodgers was snapping the ball and throwing almost immediately at times. Clearly, the constant defensive pressure affected his confidence.
However, CJ Stroud and the Texans’ offense struggled to take care of the football, keeping their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers close for far too long. If they can simply avoid turnovers this week and rely heavily on the running game, Sherman thinks they can pull off the upset.
“If you’re the Houston offense, you feel like, ‘Hey, we just need to take care of the football. We need to manage the clock, run the football well, and not turn it over.’ If you’re CJ Stroud, if you’re DeMeco Ryans, that’s all you’re telling them,” Sherman professed.
The former Super Bowl champion then concluded by saying that all the Texans’ offense needs to do is provide their defense with chances.
“Give our defense a chance to win this game, because on the other side, this Patriots offense has been potent. But they have not faced a top-five defense this entire season. I think the Chargers were the top defense they faced, and of course, they won that game by 10 points. But they struggled for a good portion of it.”
If the Texans can pull off the upset as Sherman predicts, it would mark the franchise’s first Conference Championship appearance in its 24-year history. They’ve reached the Divisional Round six times before and lost each one. Will the seventh be the lucky charm? Only time will tell.
