Less than 24 hours after their 30-21 loss to Buffalo, the Texans have already begun looking ahead to their Week 14 matchup against the New England Patriots.
"I think the mode of 'we lost' is already gone," Nate Washington said Monday morning. "I don't think guys are in that mode. I think it's the eagerness to get back in the weight room, get back in the film sessions, and get back in those things to understand what happened. I think a lot of the guys understand the situation that's in front of us. The loss that happened yesterday is definitely behind us. None of the guys are even walking around dwelling on that."
With the Colts also losing on Sunday night to Pittsburgh 45-10, both Houston and Indianapolis have 6-6 records. The AFC South is very much in play for the Texans, but players are simply focused on what they need to do in order to prepare for Tom Brady and the Patriots.
"Coach (Bill) Belichick is one of the best coaches in the league to get his team prepared, but we fully believe in (Bill) O'Brien," Washington said. "He fully believes in us and the opportunity is there in front of us to go seize it. It's important for us to get in these film sessions and get back on the practice field Wednesday and clean up a lot of our things. We'll be all right."
Sunday's loss snapped the Texans four-game win streak that began before the Week 9 bye. It had been six weeks since Houston's 44-26 loss to Miami, a turning point from the 2-5 start to the current 6-6 state the team is in now.
"Coming off a loss like yesterday, we had a long plane ride back where guys can kind of look at the film and move on from it," Johnathan Joseph said. "Obviously, today we are going to talk about some of the mistakes we made in the game, but the mindset is onto the New England Patriots now."
With the Indianapolis Colts also losing on Sunday night to Pittsburgh 45-10, the AFC South race still very much in play for Houston. Both teams have a 6-6 record heading into the final four games of the season. The Texans will host the Patriots in a primetime matchup before a three-game stretch against division opponents.
"Yup, it's right in front of us and we control our own destiny, right now, and we just got to worry about the next game," Brian Cushing said. "The most important thing is to get the job done and win."
The (6-6) Texans host the (10-2) Patriots on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT on NBC and SportsRadio 610.
