The Texans defense will be crippling if it’s fully healthy, and it looks like it will be fully healthy when the season begins, with players like J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus ready to go. And that’s bad news for the team’s early opponent this season, including the team’s Week One foe in New England.
Also ready to go will be a new addition to the defense, one that is itching for the chance to finally face Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
“I was just talking to somebody about that,” Mathieu told reporters regarding the fact the Texans see the Patriots right out of the gates. “It’s going to be fun. Brady’s special. He’s a special player. I look up to him in a lot of different ways. He’s the ultimate competitor. For me, it’s just about getting in front of him and seeing what he’s got.”
And Mathieu has never been in front of Brady before, given that he spent his entire career before 2018 in the NFC.
“Actually, we played them a couple of years ago but . . . he was suspended, so [Jimmy] Garoppolo played,” Mathieu said. “I’ve never faced him, so it will be fun. Absolutely.”
Oh it absolutely will be fun, especially with the Texans having a quarterback in Deshaun Watson who fits the mold that routinely gives Patriots coach Bill Belichick fits. And given the array of 1:00 p.m. ET games to be played on the first Sunday of the season (Texans-Patriots, Jaguars-Giants, 49ers-Vikings, and even Steelers-Browns), the new season will be getting off to a great and dizzying start.