Countdown To Kickoff: Texans-Patriots

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Patriots remain the gold standard in the AFC and the NFL. No other team has managed to dominate their division and the division like they have since Darth Hoodie became a Masshole. Our own head coach and several other coaches worked or played under Bill Belichick, so the NFL likes to pair our two teams for ratings (and more nauseating NFL narrative). We’ve come close to winning several games against New England in recent seasons, but we always seem to make one or two mistakes that cost us victories against a coach and team who are masters of holding on, waiting for that mistake, and then pouncing.

This season, we get our Patriots narrative started early. Our second preseason game and third regular season game are against New England, so we can ensure the onslaught early and either feel confident that we took the fight to them, or grateful that it’s behind us and we can focus on division games.

Tonight, the Patriots are enjoying Houston, in August, in the heat and humidity. My hope is that the weather does its part, even with the roof at NRG Stadium closed, to make them feel as unwelcome as the Texans and Texans fans do. This is your Countdown to Kickoff, where you can discuss the game before the game. What’s cooking? Anything we should watch for? What will you take away from the game, win or lose?