Tom Brady Says Texans Have “Toughest Defense We’ve Faced All Year”

Although your Houston Texans are being given virtually no chance against the New England Patriots on Saturday by the general public, Tom Brady realizes that the Texans’ defense is no joke. To that end, the Patriots’ quarterback had this to say about the unit he’ll be facing in a conference call with the media today:

“They can get after the quarterback, so they stop the run, play on their terms, get after the quarterback,” Brady said. “They’ve got a lot of good scheme stuff that Romeo [Crennel] does that is challenging to prepare for. There’s nothing easy about it. There are no plays off. They challenge you in every aspect, so we’ve just got to be very sharp. Our execution has to be at its highest level, and it’s going to be the toughest defense we’ve faced all year. We’re going to have to see if we can meet that challenge.”

The more cynical among you may chalk that up to the usual robotic, empty pre-game platitudes we see from athletes, and far be it for me to say you’re not entitled to that opinion. But to dismiss the incredible season Houston’s defense has had (especially without J.J. Watt around) isn’t fair, either. They’ve routinely limited the quarterbacks they’ve faced, whether said signal-caller was Blake Bortles or Aaron Rodgers; no quarterback has thrown for 300 yards against the Texans’ defense this season.

Tom Brady may very well break that streak on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, but it may not be the given so many pundits believe it to be.