NFL Week 13 Pick – New England Patriots vs Houston Texans
Pats Defense Tales on QB Watson
pmroczka
Our Patriots vs Texans pick has New England at -3.0. This Patriots vs Texans pick and preview notes that New England is 4-1 for their last five and Houston is 3-2. The New England Patriots (10-1 Overall, 5-1 Away), who have won their last two games, top the AFC East. Last week, the Pats beat the Dallas Cowboys 13-9. The Houston Texans (7-4 Overall, 4-1 Away) are first in the AFC South. They won their last game beating the Indianapolis Colts 20-17. The game will be played on Sunday, December 1, 2019 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX. The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:20 pm ET.
Patriots vs Texans Pick – Stats
The Patriots are averaging 27.3 PPG, while the Texans are at 24.1 PPG. Houston is averaging 440.5 YPG on offense, while today’s opponents are putting together 364.9 YPG. The Texan rush attack has been good for 136.9 YPG, while their passing game is averaging 263.6 YPG. The New England offense is averaging 273.0 air YPG and 91.9 ground YPG.
The Patriot defense is allowing just 10.6 PPG. The Texans are giving up 22.6 PPG. New England is holding teams to 279.5 total defensive YPG with just 181.1 YPG in passing. Rushing yards allowed come to 98.4 per game. Houston is giving up 381.5 YPG, including 274.5 in the air. Defensive yards allowed per game come to 108.0.
Other defensive stats complied by New England are impressive. They include 37 sacks, 20 picks, 13 forced fumbles, and nine recovered fumbles. The D has scored four times. They also have 59 TFL and 67 PD. The Texans have forced 13 fumbles and recovered nine. Their sacks come to 22 and picks five. They also have accumulated 51 TFL and 47 PD and scored once.
New England vs Houston Players
For the Patriots, QB Tom Brady, who’s passed for 2,942 yards, is completing 62.2% of his passes. Brady has tossed 15 TD passes and five INTs. He’s been sacked 18 times. RB Sony Michel anchors the ground game. He has scored six time and is averaging 3.4 YPA. Michel has gained 600 yards. WR Julian Edelman is first on the Pats with 76 catches and 809 yards. He has made four TDs, while WR Philip Dorsett leads the club with five TD receptions. On defense, LB Jamie Collins, who is questionable today, has six sacks, 11 TFL, five PD, three INTs, and three FF. Safety Devin McCourty has accumulated five picks and seven PD, while corner Stephon Gilmore has four picks and 13 PD.
Our Patriots vs Texans pick and preview notes that QB DeShaun Watson is a tough guy to stop. He’s completed 69.0% of his passes, hitting for 20 TDs while tossing seven picks and being sacked 32 times. His total passing yards come to 2,899, while Watson has rushed for 301 yards and five scores. RB Carlos Hyde, who has run for 836 yards, is averaging 4.8 YPA. He’s scored four times. Top pass catchers include wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who has 81 catches for six scores, and tight end Darren Fells, who’s captured 26 passes for six TDs. On defense, Whitney Mercilus is a top performer with 5.5 sacks, 13 TFL and four FF. LB Zach Cunningham leads the team with 95 tackles. He’s also posted 6.5 TFL. Corner Jonathan Joseph has defended nine passes.
Five Keys to the Game
This New England vs Houston prediction finds that following five items are the major keys to this game.
Field goal kicking – Pats feature their fourth kicker, Kai Forbath, replacing Folk who had an emergency appendectomy. This spot has been inconsistent all season
Texan QB Watson – can NE contain him?
Patriot D – if they score, Patriots win
Brady-Edelman connection essential
Defense vs Defense – Pats edge; Offense vs Offense – Houston Edge
Our Patriots vs Texans Pick
Once again, we like the Patriot D. It is the best in the league. At the same time, the Texans do have some very fine players on offense. Watson is extremely talented and tough to shut down. In addition, our Patriots vs Texans pick finds that Brady and offense continue to struggle. With all of that being said, we are taking the New England Patriots at -3.0.
