Sunday Night Football Week 14: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Patriots vs. Texans

The New England Patriots and Houston Texans know quite a bit about one another as they head into a Week 14 Sunday Night Football encounter littered with postseason implications.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots would love nothing more than to shut down a red-hot Texans team and stay in the hunt for the AFC's No. 1 seed, though a two-game skid and key injuries have made the task difficult.

A slew of former Patriots have the Texans riding high and in contention in the AFC South after a 2-5 start. Houston coach Bill O'Brien spent six years with Tom Brady in New England, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel led three defenses that won championships and nose tackle Vince Wilfork helped anchor the Patriots defensive line for 11 years.

With so much at stake and such familiarity across the board, Sunday Night Football might have saved one of its best games of the season for late in the year. Here's a look at everything to know. 

Game Details

When: Sunday, December 13, 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: NRG Stadium, Houston

Television: NBC

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 45.5

Spread: New England (-3.5)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Dont'a Hightower	LB	Out
Rob Gronkowski	TE	Questionable
Danny Amendola	WR	Questionable
Scott Chandler	TE	Questionable
Julian Edelman	WR	Out

Player	Position	Status
Alfred Blue	RB	Probable
J.J. Watt	DE	Probable
DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Probable
Jadeveon Clowney	LB	Probable

Balance and Heath

For New England, this road trip is not only a chance at staying in contention in the AFC, but furthering the balance necessary to keep opposing defenses backpedaling in the postseason. 

Brady threw three scores in a loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 12 but got 39 rushing yards of support. The next week was a bit better but still a shocking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady threw a trio of scores with two interceptions.

Loss or not, it was a step in the right direction, as running back James White stepped into the Dion Lewis (who is out for the year) role and caught 10 passes for 115 yards and a score. It's critical the short passing game functions as the running game if runners cannot get it going within the confines of the New England offense.

The missing piece now? Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who sounds like a go this weekend, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe:

Call it a big win for the Patriots going into a road showdown with a defense ranked third in the league with just 218.3 passing yards allowed per game.

Rounding into preinjury form with new faces stepping up and others returning, New England gets a playoff-caliber test Sunday night. How Brady and Co. respond will say quite a lot beyond the immediate result. 

The Next Step? 

Can Sunday be the next step for O'Brien's Texans?

While his team sits at 6-6, O'Brien has a defense led by J.J. Watt that's allowing just 22 points per game on average, a quarterback in Brian Hoyer—also a former member of the Patriots—who tossed three touchdowns last week and the best wideout in the game, DeAndre Hopkins, who has 86 catches for 1,169 yards and 10 scores.

Remember, this is all while missing one of the best backs in the league, Arian Foster.

O'Brien made a point to emphasize the fact that his team's success or failure this weekend would hinge on talent and execution, not his familiarity and past with the opponent, according to ESPN.com.

"That experience with the Patriots was just a great experience for me," he said. "It taught me a lot about football. It taught me a lot about myself, and I owe a lot to Bill for that. I haven't been there in three years and they are a lot different than when I was there."

The task isn't hard to figure out. Watt's defense needs to have an uptick in reliability after permitting 30 points last week to the Buffalo Bills behind four total touchdowns by quarterback Tyrod Taylor. 

If the defense cannot lean on a home crowd and make an impact, last week showed Houston's offense cannot keep up in a shootout. All phases have to click for the Texans to "arrive" on a national stage.

Prediction

Steven Senne/Associated Press

This one seems like a perfect whirlwind of events for the visitors.

Not only will the Patriots get their best offensive weapon back, but last week provided the unit with more versatility to make up for a struggling run game. Just in time, too, as the Texans just showed off quite the exploitable bit of play against a team the Patriots already swept this season.

To make matters worse for the home team, Watt broke his hand in practice. If the unit struggles, it's asking a lot for Hoyer to win a one-on-one duel with Brady, home game or not. 

Look for the Patriots to pull away early as the offense continues to round into form. Forcing the Texans to the air will produce mistakes against a New England defense that has forced a turnover in every game except one. 

Prediction: Patriots 45, Texans 24

Statistics and injury information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.