The Houston Texans and New England Patriots face off on Thursday in Week 1 of the NFL preseason at Gillette Stadium.
All Eyes on C.J. Stroud
Are all eyes are going to be on Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud who the team hopes will turn around their franchise. Stroud was selected with the second overall pick after being a standout with the Houston Texans. Stroud is battling against Davis Mills for the starting quarterback job, but he has gotten most of the first-team reps. As long as Stroud looks good during the preseason, it’s expected that he will be the starter in week 1. During his college career, Stroud finished with a 21-4 record and he has made it clear that he is a winner. Stroud isn’t the only player the Texans drafted that they hope will make a big impact early on this season. The team moved up from Pick 12 to Pick 3 to bring in standout edge rusher Will Anderson Jr who was a star with the Alabama Crimson Tide. In this game though it’s going to come down to the play of Stroud.
Make or Break Year for Mac Jones
There were some rumblings that there could be a quarterback battle for the Patriots, but it looks pretty clear that it’s going to be Mac Jones that starts the season. Bailey Zappe has been a bit inconsistent under center during training camp, and unless he really flashes during the preseason, it looks like Jones will start Week 1. One issue during training camp has been the play of the offensive line. If it was games Jones and Zappe would be getting way too much, and in this game, the offensive line is going to need to be a whole lot better. Trace McSorley and Malik Cunningham are also both on the roster and they are fighting for a roster spot. Both players are expected to have some run in this game.
Shane’s Free Pick
Stroud has shown some flashes during training camp, and I’m still not sold on Mac Jones really being the long term answer for the Patriots. Zappe has also had his struggles during training camp and he’s going to really struggle to get any type of offense going here. This is going to be a lower scoring game, but I don’t think the play should be on the total here. The lack of scoring for the Patriots is going to be enough for the Texans to get the job done. Back the Texans against the spread.