Patriots at Texans
The New England Patriots look to end their three-game road losing streak when they visit the reeling Houston Texans on Sunday. New England began the road portion of its schedule with close victories at Buffalo and Atlanta before dropping decisions to Cincinnati, the New York Jets and Carolina. The Patriots rebounded from the loss to the Panthers by rallying for a thrilling 34-31 overtime triumph over Denver last week.
New England spotted the Broncos a 24-0 lead before scoring 31 unanswered points, the biggest comeback in franchise history. Stephen Gostkowski booted a 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left in overtime to give the Patriots their third win in four overall contests. Houston suffered a 13-6 defeat against lowly Jacksonville last week as its losing streak reached nine games.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Patriots -7.5. O/U: 47.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (8-3): New England won three of the four previous regular-season meetings between the teams as well as last season's divisional-round playoff matchup. Quarterback Tom Brady has been less than stellar during the Patriots' road skid, throwing just one touchdown against three interceptions. He has been tremendous in December, however, posting a 41-6 record in the month over his career.
ABOUT THE TEXANS (2-9): Despite its overall struggles, Houston leads the NFL in total defense (290.4 yards per game) and passing defense (171.8). Wide receiver Andre Johnson is eight catches away from becoming the 15th player in league history with 900 career receptions. Defensive end J.J. Watt looks to extend his streak to six straight games with a sack.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Houston has averaged 15.3 points during its franchise-record losing streak.
2. The Patriots allowed a season-worst 280 rushing yards against Denver last week and ranks 31st in the league with an average of 139.7 yards allowed on the ground.
3. New England hasn't lost four consecutive road games since 2000.