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| HOUSTON TEXANS (10-7) | DIV | NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (14-2) |
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| Date: | 14 January 2017 |
Location: | Foxborough, MA |
| Time: | 7:00 PM Central | Stadium: | Gillette Stadium |
| TV: | CBS | Radio: | XM Ch 225 (HOU)/82 (NE) Sirius Ch 81 (HOU)/82 (NE) |
| TV Announcers: | Jim Nantz Phil Simms |
Know Thy Foes: |
Battle Red Blog Pats Pulpit |
| Weather: | 27 degrees, wins from SW at 5 MPH, 0% chance of precip | ||
| Line: | New England -16, Over/Under 44.5 (Thanks to the SB Nation Odds page) | ||
| Chris' Prediction: | Patriots 31, Texans 13 | ||
| Final Score: | Patriots 34, Texans 16 | ||
The AFC gets their opportunity to take the field for the Divisional Round in this one, as the top-seeded New England Patriots will play host to the Houston Texans, who dispatched Oakland last weekend in the Wild Card round.
These two teams met back in Week 3, and it was pretty ugly for the Texans. New England trounced Houston to the tune of 27-0. . .without Tom Brady. The Patriots were actually rolling with their third-string quarterback, rookie Jacoby Brissett, and still made things look easy against a Texans team that looked thoroughly overmatched. There's a reason that the home team is a double-digit favorite in this one. . .and a reason I think they cover that spread.
Should the Patriots win, they will host the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium next Sunday night. If the Texans pull what would be a monumental upset, they will travel to either Kansas City or Pittsburgh for next week's AFC title game.
Enjoy the game, folks!