Texans vs. Patriots 2017 picks and predictions: Experts are all-in on New England

Last time these two teams played, the Patriots won 27-0 with their third-string quarterback.

Jan 12, 2017, 3:00 PM UTC

Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images

The Houston Texans will travel to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots Saturday night in the Divisional round of the playoffs. As the top seed in the AFC, the Patriots are coming off a bye, while the Texans are fresh off a 27-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in the Wild Card round.

This game will kick off 8:15 p.m. ET, airing on CBS.

These two team met back in Week 3, and New England won 27-0. Quarterback Tom Brady was still serving his four-game suspension because of his role in DeflateGate and backup Jimmy Garoppolo was injured. That left quarterback duties to Jacoby Brissett, who filled in admirably in the blowout win.

The Texans have come a long way since then, though. Led by its stifling defense, Houston boasted the top-ranked defense this season, even without J.J. Watt for most of the year.

Jadeveon Clowney & Co. did a stellar job of getting pressure on Raiders rookie quarterback Connor Cook last week — creating turnovers and clogging up rushing lanes. Houston surrendered only 203 total yards.

The Texans’ offense did just enough to win the game. Quarterback Brock Osweiler played mistake-free football in his first start since getting benched for the last week of the season. He threw for 168 yards and a touchdown, and added a rushing touchdown.

Osweiler is faced with a much tougher task against the Patriots, whose defense has been playing well this season. This unit was the ranked eighth in the league during the regular season. Houston will have a hard time scoring against a Patriots team that does not surrender big plays.

On offense, New England’s high-powered offense can light up the scoreboard. It seems like Brady gets better as the years go by. He’s thrown for 3,554 yards to go along with 28 touchdowns and two interceptions, and is a candidate to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award.

Running back LeGarrette Blount has had a great season as well. He ran for 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns, which was a league-high in the regular season.

In order to stop the Patriots’ offense, the Texans have to keep Brady on the sideline, which is easier said than done against a team that finished 14-2.

It shouldn’t be surprising that everyone’s taking the Patriots in this rematch. All of the experts at ESPN and CBS believe New England will walk away victorious and advance to the AFC Championship.

It’s the same story here at SB Nation.