The Houston Texans are still in contention for the Vince Lombardi Trophy after ending the season of the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 30-6 victory in an AFC Wild Card Round showdown at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Monday.
However, there are concerns about the availability of some key Texans players from both sides of the field for this coming Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round clash against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Star wide receiver Nico Collins did not practice on Wednesday as he remains in the concussion protocol, according to the Texans’ official injury report for the Patriots game. But apart from Collins, other key Houston players with either a limited participation label or DNP (did not practice) tag on Wednesday, including linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, defensive end Denico Autry and cornerback Kamari Lassiter.
There are still chances for those players to practice and prove they’re ready to give it a go in an all-important playoff duel against Drake Maye and the Pats.
Defense has been a key reason behind Houston’s success in the 2025 NFL campaign, and it will have to be in top form in the AFC Divisional Round, especially since New England has a very potent offense led by MVP candidate Maye.
The Texans finished the regular season with the best scoring defense in the league, having allowed just 16.7 points per game. They also topped the NFL with only 273.3 total yards surrendered per contest. Houston has an opportunistic defense that helped the Texans rank third overall with an average of 1.7 takeaways.
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