Like an alligator lurking in the reeds, New England would welcome Houston as a tasty, unsuspecting meal. And when the Texans (4-1) travel to Foxboro this week, not only are they looking at a classic trap game, they also could be facing a rookie quarterback in his first start and doing it without the NFL’s leading receiver.
From a defensive standpoint, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said his team will cram for both veteran Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye.
“If the young guy gets in, we have to be prepared to adjust, so of course we’ll go back and watch as much as we can on him from his preseason plays,” Ryans said Monday, after his team’s 23-20 walk-off victory over Buffalo. “But our focus will just be on, structurally, what they do as an offense.”
Like Ryans, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is a former linebacker for the team he now leads. Mayo has remained loyal since the beginning to Brissett but said after Sunday’s 15-10 home loss to Miami – the Patriots’ fourth straight loss — that the team would consider changes across the board in order to salvage its season. Maye made his NFL debut in a brief fourth-quarter stint during a 24-3 loss to the Jets two weeks ago. Brissett in five starts this season is 1-4, having completed just 58.5 percent of his passes for 696 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. His 74.2 passer rating is among the lowest in the league.
But the Patriots’ quarterback might not be as concerning to Ryans as the likely prospect of C.J. Stroud playing on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) without his favorite target, Nico Collins, who leads the NFL with 567 receiving yards. Collins left with a pulled hamstring after catching a 67-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. Ryans stopped short of declaring Collins out for the Patriots game but did say hamstrings generally take at least two weeks.
Asked on Monday about the playing without Collins, Ryans answered with a rhetorical question.
“Do you replace him? No. Everybody just steps up and whatever role you’re asked to do, just step up and play your role the proper way. Nobody has to be Nico. There is one Nico; he’s done a great job ofthat. Now, whoever is next, when your number is called, make the plays that you are supposed to
make.”
The Texans could get good news, though, on running back Joe Mixon. Sidelined since leaving Houston’s Week 2 win at Indianapolis with an ankle injury, Mixon could be back in the lineup at New England.
“He has definitely been improving week to week,” Ryans said. “He’s done a great job attacking his rehab so we will see where he is as the week goes on.”
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