The Patriots are readying for a divisional round showdown vs. the Texans at Gillette Stadium and it's all hands on deck for New England in Sunday's playoff matchup.
After being listed as questionable, captain Harold Landry III (knee) is officially active, as is Pro Bowl CB Christian Gonzalez and NT Khyiris Tonga. Gonzalez is active after clearing the league's concussion protocol earlier this week, while Tonga is returning to the lineup after a multi-week absence due to a foot injury. The Patriots inactives are G Caedan Wallace, OLB Bradyn Swinson, TE C.J. Dippre, OT Marcus Bryant, DB Kobee Minor, DT Eric Gregory, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback.
Starting on defense, the Patriots first got good news when Pro Bowl CB Christian Gonzalez cleared the league's concussion protocol on Friday. As a result, Gonzalez didn't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game and is officially active as expected. The Pats top cornerback being active a week after being placed in concussion protocol is a break for New England, as Texans star WR Nico Collins (concussion) is officially inactive after he didn't clear concussion protocol in time for Sunday's game.
With Gonzalez being available, the Patriots might want to turn up the heat on Texans QB C.J. Stroud, which is easier to do when you have Gonzalez covering in the backend. This season, Stroud ranks 27th in passer rating when he's under pressure (60.9) compared to 10th when he's kept clean (107.7). The Texans QB is also just 18th in passer rating when he's blitzed this season (92.1). Based on the metrics, pressuring Stroud behind an offensive line that ranks 30th in pass-blocking win rate this season is a huge key to the game.
Last week, the Patriots pressured Chargers QB Justin Herbert on 56.8% of his drop-backs with a 45.5% blitz rate, per Pro Football Focus. New England's defense dominated by blitzing the Chargers QB and the numbers suggest that could be a winning formula again this week. With their Pro Bowl corner active, the Pats can continue allocating resources to the pass rush with Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis III, and NCB Marcus Jones holding up with fewer defenders in coverage.
As for the front seven, Landry is officially active after being listed as questionable and sitting out Friday's practice. The Pats captain has been managing his injured knee for several weeks now and sat out the last two weeks of the regular season. He played only 30 snaps in the Wild Card win over the Chargers and didn't log any disruptions, while OLB Anfernee Jennings and Elijah Ponder were more effective. Although he's an important leader in the defense, it'll be interesting to see how many snaps Landry gets this week.
New England will also get a boost on both sides of the ball with Tonga's return from a multi-week absence. The big nose tackle hasn't played since injuring his foot in Week 16 but was a full participant in practice this week after sitting out the Wild Card round. Tonga has been an effective run-stuffer (12 stuffs) and pocket-denter (14 total pressures) this season. The Texans like to run downhill with duo runs, where they'll double-team on the interior. Houston ran the ball well in its Wild Card win over the Steelers (164 rushing yards), so getting Tonga back to absorb double teams and plug gaps vs. the run will hopefully counter that nicely.
Tonga could also help the Patriots on offense, where he has played 14 snaps this season as a lead-blocker. Tonga has shown good versatility and power at the point of attack, helping New England convert short-yardage situations and run the ball into the end zone on the goal line, where the Texans run defense has been great this season. Houston ranks fifth in power success rate (59.5%), with its run defense holding up well on goal-line and late downs, so Tonga could help crack open the Texans stout run defense.
QB Drake Maye's Supporting Cast vs. Texans
OL - LT Campbell, LG Wilson, C Bradbury, RG Onwenu, RT Moses, OT3 Munford
WR - Diggs, Boutte, Williams, Douglas, Chism III
TE - Henry, Hooper, Westover (FB), Tonga (short-yardage FB)
RB - Stevenson, Henderson, Johnson
Besides veteran WR Mack Hollins (abdomen) being on injured reserve for at least another week, the Patriots offense is healthy for Sunday's contest. New England is expected to start the same five along the offensive line as it did in the Wild Card round, while QB Drake Maye will have a mostly healthy arsenal at the skill positions to attack the Texans second-ranked defense in points allowed.
As for Houston, the Texans will be down two key starters on offense: WR Nico Collins (concussion) and RT Trent Brown (ankle). Collins was ruled out earlier in the week after entering the concussion protocol in last week's Wild Card win over the Steelers, so that one isn't a surprise. However, Brown is a mild surprise after sitting out the first two practices this week. The Texans will most likely turn to backup tackle Blake Fisher on the right side.
With a win this week, the Patriots would advance to their 16th AFC Championship Game in franchise history. After taking down the Bills on Saturday, the Broncos will host the AFC title game in Denver next week. Obviously, the Patriots have to take care of their own business first in a challenging matchup against the Texans in the divisional round, with Houston's defense presenting one of the biggest tests of Maye's young career.
The Patriots and Texans kickoff at 3 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
