Patriots will face Texans in Divisional Round
The first playoff game has been played, and it kind of sucked. But it was important for us New England Patriots fans, as it decided who we will face in the playoffs.
And our fate was decided, as the Houston Texans held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals by 19-13. So on Sunday 13th January, at around 4pm ET, the Patriots postseason will get underway, in a rematch of our week 14 game with the Texans.
And, based on today's evidence, we once again shouldn't have a problem. If we can stop the run like we've been able to do for most of the season, and we can shut down Andre Johnson again, we'll be fine. Though Arian Foster got around 130 rushing yards, and another 40 in the air, the way we handled him in the regular season seemed to work, so a repeat performance should secure a win.
Of course, a couple of things worth noting. This isn't the regular season anymore, and we can't just rely on thinking like "Oh, we whipped 'em in the regular season, this'll be easy again.". The Texans will look at that game and sort themselves out. They'll see what worked against Tom Brady and they will look at what the San Francisco 49ers did, and they will be better prepared.
An example of thinking the wrong way would certainly be the New York Jets playoff game a few years back. I think a lot of people were very complacent, and they came out and simply played harder. The Texans didn't go 11-1 and make the playoffs by fluke, they can beat us if we're complacent.
But Tom Brady will not let this team be complacent. He will have the Pats roaring. And we will be going to the Championship game.
Or am I being complacent?
Hit me up on Twitter @BrendanAnnely
And our fate was decided, as the Houston Texans held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals by 19-13. So on Sunday 13th January, at around 4pm ET, the Patriots postseason will get underway, in a rematch of our week 14 game with the Texans.
Of course, a couple of things worth noting. This isn't the regular season anymore, and we can't just rely on thinking like "Oh, we whipped 'em in the regular season, this'll be easy again.". The Texans will look at that game and sort themselves out. They'll see what worked against Tom Brady and they will look at what the San Francisco 49ers did, and they will be better prepared.
An example of thinking the wrong way would certainly be the New York Jets playoff game a few years back. I think a lot of people were very complacent, and they came out and simply played harder. The Texans didn't go 11-1 and make the playoffs by fluke, they can beat us if we're complacent.
But Tom Brady will not let this team be complacent. He will have the Pats roaring. And we will be going to the Championship game.
Or am I being complacent?
Hit me up on Twitter @BrendanAnnely
