8 a.m. ET: This game looked a lot more interesting before the season started.
Last year's AFC divisional playoff game seems ages away now as the Texans head into Week 13 with a 2-9 record while the Patriots look ready for another playoff run at 8-3. Houston still has a fair share of talented players, with J.J. Watt, Andre Johnson, Antonio Smith and Johnathan Joseph, but lately that hasn't mattered.
The Texans won their first two games of the season, then strung together nine straight losses. New England will try to make that 10 this afternoon.
Aqib Talib will be matched up with Johnson, Kenbrell Thompkins will likely have to deal with Joseph and the entire offensive line will have to block Watt and Smith, since the two defensive linemen move around so much. The Patriots will be without Alfonzo Dennard, Aaron Dobson, Michael Hoomanawanui and Marcus Cannon. In their place, Logan Ryan, Thompkins, Matthew Mulligan and Will Svitek will receive extended reps.
All four players looked impressive last week. Ryan allowed just one catch on four targets, Thompkins was a second-half spark for Tom Brady and the offense, Mulligan was his usual solid self run blocking and Svitek handled Shaun Phillips just fine.
The Patriots' four remaining opponents have a 22-30 record. That means New England will have to avoid a trap game to finish the season. This is the team's first "test" to avoid that letdown game.
The game kicks off at 1 p.m., but stay here for all the latest news and updates from the pregame. Have a question for Doug Kyed? Send it to him via Twitter at @DougKyedNESN or send it here.
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