After surviving last Sunday night’s wild-card opener, the New England Patriots will welcome the Texans to Foxborough this Sunday in the divisional round in a matchup between two teams whose defenses were at their best to start the playoffs. The Patriots took an impressive 16-3 defensive win over the Chargers, but the Houston defense absolutely splattered the Steelers in Monday night’s 30-6 win on the road.
The Patriots were as healthy as they had been in more than a month in the win over L.A., and that will be a key factor for the team going forward. There is one major injury concern, with star cornerback Christian Gonzalez in concussion protocol, but the Patriots appear to have escaped further issues. Still, replacing Gonzalez would be difficult, and the Patriots took a step toward that on Tuesday.
For Houston, receiver Nico Collins is also dealing with a concussion after leaving Monday’s win.
Patriots Bring Back Miles Battle
Against that backdrop, the Patriots announced a series of roster moves on Tuesday to bolster the team’s depth. The moves were all made on the practice squad, but could be important depending on how the team decides to handle potential depth issues, especially if Gonzalez can’t go.
From the Patriots’ official release: ” The New England Patriots announced that CB Miles Battle, RB D’Ernest Johnson, T Lorenz Metz and WR Trent Sherfield Sr. have been signed to the practice squad and DL Fabien Lovett and WR Brandon Smith have been released from the practice squad.”
Battle is the most obviously important one, as he could potentially fill in for Gonzalez on the roster if he can’t go. Battle was released last week, and signed back this week. He played five games for the Patriots this season, though he only appeared in 29 defensive snaps, playing 54 special teams snaps. He was with the Patriots, largely on the practice squad, last season and managed to survive the implementation of the new Mike Vrabel regime.
Johnson is probably the other most important name on the list, as he is a veteran running back who played seven games this season and carried 13 times for 25 yards. He can also return kicks, which he did five times this season.
Christian Gonzalez, Nico Collins Concussion Loom Large
The Collins and Gonzalez concussions could have a big impact on the Patriots-Texans game. Both are Pro Bowlers, with Collins recording 1,117 yards receiving this season and quietly having one of the best years in the league at his position. Without him, the Texans’ receiving crew gets very average very fast.
It’s a similar situation with Gonzalez, where there is a drop-off to second-year corner Charles Woods.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel praised Gonzalez this week, but offered no insight on when he might return.
Said Vrabel: “Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] continues to play at a high level. Those are the expectations that he has for himself and that we have for him, and yeah, I would say that he would be in the protocol. How long that lasts, I don’t know, but when you don’t return to the game, when they won’t let you go back in the game, that would put him in the protocol.
“So, wherever that goes, that goes, but we appreciate what he’s done and his willingness to line up different places. It’s not quite as easy as – we’ve been through this, but different coverages, locations, motions and things like that. So, he’s handled that all really well. Hopefully, we’ll get him back.”
