3 Players To Watch in Patriots’ Week 11 Matchup vs. Texans
The New England Patriots enter this week at 4-5 after an encouraging 23-17 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. They now hope to improve to the .500 mark against the 2-7 Houston Texans.
As it currently stands, the Patriots have a small window at making this year's playoff bracket. If they want to have any chance of upstaging both the Miami Dolphins and the division-leading Buffalo Bills, they need to start compiling as many wins as possible. That makes this week's game against the lowly Texans a must-win to keep their chances alive.
Here are three players to watch in what might be a must-win game for New England.
Damien Harris
The Texans have allowed a league-worst 5.2 yards per carry through their first nine games this season. This is not only a struggling defense, this is a defense that simply cannot stop the run. Of course, there's more bad news their way, as Harris is coming off a career game against the Ravens.
While Michael Onwenu has the big task of taking on J.J. Watt, the offensive line should have no problem making space for Harris to plow through. Josh McDaniels should also have no problem dialing up a heavy-run based gameplan. With the Patriots embracing the offensive line and Harris as the new identity of their offense, expect Harris to once again garner around 20 carries. While Sony Michel will also be back in the mix, Harris could and should still dominate the workload.
Stephon Gilmore
This will be Gilmore's first game back since the Week 7 matchup against the San Fransisco 49ers. With J.C. Jackson taking over Gilmore's spot in his absence, it will be interesting to see if the dynamic changes at all between these two corners.
Having Gilmore back against Houston is huge, given the fact that they have four playmakers at receiver (Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller, Randall Cobb, Kenny Stills). Gilmore will likely shadow Cooks (last matchup was in Super Bowl 53). Jackson will likely cover Fuller, with Jonathan Jones and Jason McCourty fully capable of handling Stills and Cobb.
Gilmore certainly was missed at times in his absence. With the defense coming off a strong showing last week against the Ravens, the hope is that the defense can build off that win and simultaneously add their best defensive player back to the equation. With that, look for New England to try and stop the run early on with their recently successful front seven, and force teams to pass against this secondary on third downs. It was a formula to success last year that could very well return, especially with Gilmore back.
Watch closely at the roles in which Gilmore and Jackson have to play. Doing so could give a hint as to what the team thinks of both players moving forward. Especially with Gilmore's trade rumors heating up before the deadline and Jackson in a contract year.
Isaiah Ford
Ford was active for last week's game against Baltimore, however, didn't register a snap. While there is no indication that this game will have a different fate, Ford (No. 84) is a player to watch. He will likely play the Julian Edelman, slot receiver role alongside Jakobi Meyers. If both Ford and Meyers can be productive in this offense, Cam Newton can find a good deal of success.
The hope is that Ford can get some snaps in the game on Sunday. He has been adjusting to the Patriots' playbook recently, which holds many similarities to his old playbook with the Dolphins under offensive coordinator Chad O'Shea in 2019.
If Bill Belichick thinks Ford is ready to contribute, he could really find some success against this Houston defense.
