Brady Wins AFC Offensive Player Of The Year Award

“It’s a big challenge”.

“He’s a very intelligent guy”, O’Brien said. Safety Quinten Demps is a good all-around player and Andre Hal may be inconsistent but he is capable of making a game-changing play. The Texans picked up three sacks and three interceptions on a day that saw them advance to the next playoff game with a 27-14 win over Oakland. The Patriots dismantled the Texans 27-0 during Week 3 of the regular season and that win occurred with rookie third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett.

Texans defensive lineman Vince Wilfork doesn’t care at all that his team is a 16-point underdog, and that’s mainly because he’s been on the losing side of a huge upset. Sure history is against them also. When asked if the Patriots defense had gotten any better since that game, he gave the conference call equivalent of a shrug emoji. But the Texans were missing defensive leader Brian Cushing in that game, and his presence should help the unit play more organized and do a better job of staying gap sound against the run this time around.

It was all about Bell, though, as he finished his game with two touchdowns and 167 rushing yards, where a 26 yard play pushed the Steelers to their early big lead.

Brock Osweiler #17 of the Houston Texans runs onto the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at NRG Stadium on December 24, 2016 in Houston, Texas.

Tom Brady has been playing at an MVP level since he returned from his DeflateGate suspension. They have spent the week doing what they always do – not saying anything even close to bad about the opposition.

I think we rushed for over 120 yards, which is good. I don’t think anything outside. In two meetings with the Texans since former Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien became their head coach before the 2014 season, the Patriots have outscored them, 54-6.

Quarterback Tom Brady is on the short list of MVP candidates after throwing 28 touchdowns versus only two interceptions in 12 games, setting a new National Football League record for the best TD-to-interception ratio. For the Patriots, six of its players hail from the Houston-area. If the tables were flipped, the attitude would be similar here in New England and Patriots fans only need to go back to the postseason coming off the 2001 regular season where it all started to know what that feels like.

This isn’t to say the Texans don’t have a chance, it’s just saying the likelihood of the Texans being successful against New England at home is tough. Saturday’s divisional round could possibly be a homecoming of sorts, with these players battling a city and team (previous Houston Oilers) they grew up rooting for.

Alan Branch was not spotted at practice Tuesday. “We have to understand that and how important our ability to follow our own rules is going to be, follow the rules of our offense”, said O’Brien.

That mentorship has worked, and we are starting to see the dividends of the 11th year pro’s commitment to Clowney.