There are places in the NFL in which it’s extremely tough for visitors to win, especially in the playoffs in January.
Then there’s Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA.
The Texans have first hand knowledge as to the accuracy of that opening statement. From the time that the Texans came into existence in 2002 to present day, the New England Patriots won six Super Bowls and went undefeated at home in the playoffs nine of those seasons. Furthermore, those seasons included two Divisional Round playoff wins over the Texans, games that Texans fans would love to forget, honestly.
The first came in 2012 a few weeks after the Patriots had done a number on the Texans on MNF late in that season. The Texans cut the lead to four at halftime in the playoff game, but the Patriots pulled away when it mattered most for the win. The 2016 matchup was closer for three quarters as the Texans’ number one defense in the NFL had one of its best nights, but a Patriots interception early in the fourth quarter helped seal that Texans’ team fate.
Now, the Texans head back up to the place where two promising playoff runs died, right there on that Gillette Stadium turf. It’s a House of Horrors, if I’m being honest, but the Texans, with many of the same personnel from this year, went up to Foxboro last year and put one on the Patriots, winning there for the first time in history in the regular season or playoffs. Now, it’s time to get the first playoff win in that building in this team’s history. To do so, though, the Texans will have to stop a QB MVP candidate and do it in wintry mix conditions, potentially.
QB Drake Maye has been phenomenal in 2025 and now he has a playoff victory under his belt after the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 last Sunday night. Maye wasn’t at his sharpest, but the Patriots defense put the Chargers in a head lock and squeezed the air right out of QB Justin Herbert and his offense.
But…this is a different Texans team. How different? We’ll find out how much more at 3 PM EST when the ball is kicked off in soon-to-be snowy/wet/rainy Foxboro. As such, let’s get to Know the Texans’ Divisional Round Foe – the New England Patriots
2025 New England Patriots (15-3)
Week 1 – L Las Vegas Raiders 20-13
Week 2 – W @ Miami Dolphins 33-27
Week 3 – L Pittsburgh Steelers 21-14
Week 4 – W Carolina Panthers 42-13
Week 5 – W @ Buffalo Bills 23-20
Week 6 – W @ New Orleans Saints 25-19
Week 7 – W @ Tennessee Titans 31-13
Week 8 – W Cleveland Browns 32-13
Week 9 – W Atlanta Falcons 24-23
Week 10 – W @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-23
Week 11 – W New York Jets 27-14
Week 12 – W @ Cincinnati Bengals 26-20
Week 13 – W New York Giants 33-15
Week 14 – BYE WEEK
Week 15 – L Buffalo Bills 35-31
Week 16 – W @ Baltimore Ravens 28-24
Week 17 – W @ New York Jets 42-10
Week 18 – W Miami Dolphins 38-10
Wildcard Round – W Los Angeles Chargers 16-3
Divisional Round – Houston Texans
Patriots Offense (2025 Regular Season)
Rushing Yards Per game – 128.9 ypg (6th in the NFL)
Passing Yards Per game – 250.5 ypg (4th)
Total offense per game – 379.4 ypg (2nd)
Turnovers lost – 16 (8 INT, 8 Fumbles lost)
Expected Steelers starting offense for Divisional Round
QB – Drake Maye
RB – Rhamondre Stevenson
WR – STEFON DIGGS
WR – DeMario ‘Pop’ Douglas
WR – Kayshon Boutte
TE – Hunter Henry
LT – WILL CAMPELL
LG – JARED WILSON
C – GARRETT BRADBURY
RG – Mike Onwenu
RT – MORGAN MOSES
Key Offensive Non-Starters
Other Key Offensive pieces
RB – TREVEYON HENDERSON
WR – KYLE WILLIAMS
OT – Vederian Lowe
TE – Austin Hooper
WR – EFTON CHISM
ALL CAPS – New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Patriots Offense
1. Drake “Drake Maye” Maye…MVP? – As the Patriots embarked on a second season with Drake Maye as their starting QB, there was excitement about his growth. He had a new head coach. He was handed an all-time great offensive coordinator. They added a rookie LT with tremendous upside. A veteran Pro Bowl receiver and leader was added to the fray. With all that help, it made sense that Maye’s productivity could increase significantly. But, it was Maye, ultimately, who made all of those new additions work brilliantly together. He started to hit on his potential, as I saw it back before he entered the NFL. Take a look at my original scouting report for Maye from the 2024 NFL Draft.
Last year, no one really knew what to expect from Maye as a first year starter replacing legendary Sam Howell. He made people forget about Howell right quick. Great vision and feel for the position. Quick release. High RPMs. Touch. Accurate. Did struggle down the stretch of the 2022 season, but he’s a gamer, a North Carolina lifer.
Guts and a gamer
Deep accuracy outside the numbers
Completed passes in some of the most unique ways, threw bad passes in some of the most unique ways too
Creative passer but holds it a bit too long at times
Sees throwing lanes that weren’t even lanes on occasion
¾ throwing motion, not unusual for 6-5 QB.
Player Comp – Packers QB Jordan Love
I may have undershot his potential with a comparison to Love, but the comparison was more about the play style than anything else. However, Maye is more athletic with the ball in his hands. He’s faster when he breaks the pocket. He has been incredibly accurate with the football at all levels on the field. He’s already great and he will get even better. So, the Texans defense has their work cut out, but that D does have one advantage that can really slow down the Patriots new wunderkind QB.
2. You don’t know what you don’t know – As much as SEC fans love to tell anyone within earshot that SEC players are ready for the NFL because of the experience they get in the conference, nothing in the SEC can prepare rookie OL for dominant veteran NFL defensive linemen. Former LSU star OT Will Campbell was the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and left guard former Georgia Bulldog Jared Wilson was one of the best interior players in the aforementioned SEC last year. But, BUT, handling Will Anderson Jr, Danielle Hunter and a cadre of interior DL manimals is a WHOLE different situation. The two Patriots rookies had their hands full with the Chargers rushers, especially Campbell, last week and the Patriots must account for their inexperience this weekend. OC Josh McDaniels knows full well that he can’t try to protect five on four; this Texans front demands more bodies to help QBs get the ball off without a white jerseyed pass rusher all over the QB. So, the Patriots have to take a potential pass catcher away from that role to help Campbell. Wilson will need help from center Garrett Bradbury. That leaves Michael Onwenu and Morgan Moses on islands one-on-one, unless the Patriots take another potential pass catcher out of the mix to help them too. So, it’s a cascading problem for the Patriots with two rookies out on that left side – leave them to go one-on-one all game long (which nearly kneecapped that entire offense last week) or give them help and limit the options in the pass game for Drake Maye. Those are both advantageous to the Texans defense, a group that doesn’t need more help…but it’ll take it.
3. Stef the Chef – I remember seeing, observing and studying WR Stefon Diggs in person as a Texan in training camp in 2024 for the first time up close. He was such a great leader and motivator and C.J. Stroud said this week that he was one of the best teammates he’d ever had. Once fully rehabbed from the ACL injury that curtailed his 2024 season after eight games, Diggs signed with the Patriots and took his leadership and performance to a different level. He’s such a worry this week because of his football intelligence and IQ. He learned how to get open against this defense in training camp last year. He faced it often. He’s shifty and a great route runner and that can get him into small openings that the Texans secondary provides. The Patriots have two excellent running backs in Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, but Diggs might be the best “ball carrier” they have on Sunday, given his ability to get open quickly, catch the ball and run after the catch. As such, the Texans LBs/DBs must limit what he does after the catch and not let Stef start cooking with eight to ten catches and chunks of yards as a runner after the catch.