Pats Preview: Pats @ Texans

As the New England Patriots head into their Week 14 match up against the Houston Texans, here are some things to think about:

2 Game Skid- The Patriots enter the game on a rare two game losing streak, after blowing leads to the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles in consecutive weeks. A two game skid under head coach Bill Belichick is extremely rare and a three game skid is essentially unheard of in New England. That being the case, look for the Patriots to find a way to pull out a win on the road against Houston, whose coming off of a tough road loss to Buffalo last week.

Flex Zone- The game was originally scheduled as a 1:00 pm, game but was flexed to the prime time, 8:30 Sunday Night Football slot, by the league due to the boost in play for the Texans and the seemingly more important nature of the game. Houston comes in at 6-6 and tied for the AFC South division lead with Indianapolis while New England sits atop the AFC East with a 10-2 record.

Familiar Faces- This game is full with familiar faces all around, as the Texans have been one of the numerous organizations over the years to see an influx in both their coaching staff and player personnel of Patriot off shoots. On the coaching staff alone, the Texans employ a number of former Patriots. First, there's head coach Bill O'Brien, who coached under Belichick from 2007-2011 in a variety of positions, then there's defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who headed up the defense on the Patriots' three Super Bowl Championship teams between 2001 and 2004. The Staff also includes linebackers coach Mike Vrabel and assistant strength and conditioning coach Anthony Pleasant, who both won multiple Super Bowls as members of the early 200's Patriots teams. As far as the active roster, the Texans starting quarterback Brian Hoyer was Tom Brady's understudy in New England for a few season in the mid 2000's and big Vince Wilfork, who now plugs up the middle for the Houston defense, did that job for New England for 11 seasons as a fixture on multiple Super Bowl teams.

Containing Watt- The New England offensive line has gotten healthier over the past few weeks but has struggled to protect Brady and keep him out of harm's way the last three games. Although the quarterback insists he's "fresh as lettuce," the hits have been coming by the dozens the past few games. While they've faced some of the top defenses in the league recently, things will get no easier for the five guys up front this week as they're tasked with blocking the game's premiere pass rusher JJ Watt. Watt's ability to break through the best lines in the league has been on display for a few years now, so New England surely knows what they're  up against on Sunday night. While Brady has done a great job of gett8ing the ball out quickly and avoiding sacks, giving Watt too many opportunities to legally tee off on the 16 year vet isn't going to help keep him "fresh." Watt is dealing with a broken hand that he suffered in practice this week, but he was seen wearing a cast and is expected to be good to go by game time. While a broken hand isn't ideal, it really shouldn't impact his ability to get to Brady, though it could effect his tackling.

A Little Bit Healthier- Its another week in the books and another week of health for some of New England's walking wounded. Though he played in last week's game, Danny Amendola didn't look to be 100 percent coming off of a knee sprain. With another week of workouts and testing under him maybe he'll be able to be more impactful in New England's limited passing game. Tight end Rob Gronkowski practiced the last couple of days this week and, though he was limited, seemed to be moving around quite well on his bruised knee. He's currently listed as questionable for the game and there's a large group of people who believe the Pats should sit him out until he is 100 percent healthy or maybe until the playoffs. If he is good to go, it is very possible that we could see him in at least a limited role tomorrow. Even a partly healthy Gronk would help New England's pass first offense which has struggled in the past few weeks because of a lack of depth and reliable options for Brady. It will be interesting to see what comes of Gronk's multiple practice appearances this week.

Now You See Him, Now You Don't- it was a welcomed image by all of New England that injured Patriots receiver Julian Edelman rejoined the team for his first practice this week, since suffering a Jones fracture in the first quarter of the team's Week 10 win over the New York Giants. While Edelman's return sparked questions about his availability, he has already been ruled out for Sunday night. The slot receiver wasn't expected to return to game action until the playoffs, so the fact that he is already practicing means he might be able to return before that initial prognosis but for now he's still a ways away.

Step Up- With still no Edelman, potentially no gronk and a maybe not quite 100 percent Amendola in the Patriots way, the other guys in the team's receiving corps need to start stepping up. Brandon LaFell, while potentially being an imposing force against defenses, has struggled to catch the ball regularly since returning from the PUP list. Also, last week he appeared to not run out a couple of routes resulting in an interception and missed opportunities for big plays. Guys like Keshawn Martin and Damaris Johnson also need to step up in the passing game for Brady this week. Both guys played for the texans recently and should be able to use some of their knowledge of the team's defense to their example. As is the case with LaFell, though, these guys need to catch the ball. Last week's final effort at a comeback resulted in a tournover on downs because of three dropped passes. Catch the ball, it's that simple.

Prediction- As it was pointed out earlier, the Patriots rarely lose two games in a row and they don't lose three in a row under the Belichick and Brady regime. I can't see now as a time for that narrative top start. While the Pats haven't looke great the past few weeks, they're still 10-2 and still have enough capable players to go out there and win. Also Houston has been very upa dn down this season and are coming off a tough loss themselves. When push comes to shove you've got to go with the master, Belichick, over the apprentice, O'Brien, all day. Patriots 24, Texans 10