The Patriots are coming to town, so here are some interesting nuggets to know about this game.
The Texans have 10 three-and-outs this season on 113 drives. That's a three-and-out on just 8.8 percent of offensive drives, which is number one in the NFL. The best three-and-out percentage in league history was in 2001 when the Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams registered a three and out 9.7 percent of the time.
The Patriots lead the league in interceptions with 20 and also in turnover margin with a whopping +19. That's an insane number. As we sit today, the Texans are even-steven with a 0 turnover margin.
According to head statistical analyst Bill O'Brien, the Patriots are +208 since 2001. I mean, wow, that's just ridiculous.
Patriots star special teamer Matthew Slater blocked a punt last week against the Dallas Cowboys which was the first one of his career. That equals his career reception number as well as he had one reception in 2011 when Bill O'Brien was offensive coordinator for the Patriots. Oh, yeah, he's been to seven Pro Bowls for his work on special teams.
The Patriots have never faced Will Fuller V when he's on the field with Deshaun Watson.
The Patriots have given up 117 points on the season, which is the best in the league, but 37 of those (nearly 32 percent) came in one game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Since J.J. Watt was injured in the second quarter of the Oakland Raiders game, the Texans have given up 13, 3 and 17 (minus the Baltimore game) in 10 and half quarters of play. That's 33 points over 10 and a half quarters or extrapolated to a full 60 minutes, roughly 13 points per game.
Sunday night will be Tom Brady's 34th Sunday night game. He's 21-12 heading into this one and he's been around long enough to have played Sunday night games when it was still on ESPN before NBC took over in 2006. In those 33 games, he's thrown a touchdown in 29 of them. Of the four that he didn't throw a touchdown, the Patriots lost all but one (2003 vs. Cowboys).
Brady has faced the Texans 10 times and is 9-1, including two playoff wins in 2012 and 2016. He has thrown two or more touchdown passes in every game but one and it was the only time the Texans beat the Patriots in 2009. He threw zero that day.
The Texans haven't faced Julian Edelman since the AFC divisional round playoff game in 2016. He was injured in 2017 and suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season.
The Texans are second in the league with 21 receptions of 30+ yards in 2019. The only team with more? The Kansas City Chiefs.
Last week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans gave up just one sack for -1 yard. It was the fourth time this year that the Texans had yielded fewer than two sacks and the Texans won each of those four games.
Okay, that's enough to keep you satisfied until Sunday night. See ya then!!
