Denver Broncos are Rooting for Houston Texans on Sunday
When the Houston Texans play in Foxborough against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Denver will be rooting for the Texans. It's a better matchup with Bo Nix injured.
After beating the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in thrilling fashion, the Denver Broncos lost their starting quarterback Bo Nix to a broken ankle and now Denver has to hope the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Why?
The Broncos already beat the Texans 18-15, and a defense vs. defense battle is more favorable than an unknown quantity in the New England Patriots.
Denver Broncos are Rooting for Houston Texans on Sunday
When the Texans (13-5) and Patriots (15-3) face off Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. MT, the Broncos will be rooting for Houston.
That's because it's a better matchup for the Broncos than the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
For one, Denver already beat the Texans. Yes, C.J. Stroud was knocked out of the game in the early second quarter with a concussion—he slid late on a run and was hit in the head—but the Broncos beat the tough Texans in Houston.
It was an 18-15 grind-it-out kind of win where Bo Nix put the Broncos on his shoulders and ran for multiple first downs on the last minute drive to put Denver in position for the game-winning field goal.
The Broncos offense was awful—much like it had been in most of the early part of the season—but Denver still found a way to win ugly.
They can do it again against the Texans in another low-scoring, tough-nosed kind of game.
Last week in the Texans 30-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, C.J. Stroud was laughably bad for the first three quarters.
He fumbled twice in the first half, and then on the Texans' second half opening first drive, he threw a pick. Luckily for Stroud, the Steelers' offense was inept and turned the ball over for multiple Houston defensive touchdowns.
Finally, up 11 with 9:29 to play, Stroud and the offense found their way for their first touchdown of the day.
Any serious ball-knower will agree that the Texans are a defense-first team. They're just like the Denver Broncos.
The Patriots are an unknown and scarier quantity.
New England Patriots have an explosive offense
Over the last four weeks of the regular season, the Patriots averaged an incredible 34.8 points per game on offense.
Although, it must be noted that the Los Angeles Chargers held them to a mere 16 points in the Pats 16-3 win in the Wild Card round.
Still, for the entire regular season, the Patriots were the No. 2 offense (28.8 PPG) and their defense was No. 4 (18.8 PPG) in scoring.
But! The Patriots had the easiest strength of schedule of any team in the NFL in 2025. Their opponents' win percentage was .391. The knock on New England is they haven't played anyone.
Hey, Denver's strength of schedule was second-easiest, at .422. But, then again, the Broncos just beat the Bills 33-30. And Josh Allen. And the No. 1 rushing offense.
Certainly, that win over the Chargers was one of, if not their biggest victory of the year. But Drake Maye looked very human, not MVP-caliber.
He threw a pick and lost a fumble, and the Patriots won despite their -1 turnover differential.
It'll be interesting how Maye and the offense perform against the Texans on Sunday.
Will they be stifled again? Even more so?
It seems likely.
Then again, this era of the NFL is tilted heavily toward the offense.
Still, the Chargers are a very good defense, but the Texans may be the best defense in the NFL this season.
Their relentless pressure and simplicity makes them a truly scary unit for any offense to go against.
As Cody Alexander explained, the Texans are the anti-defense, and play with a tiny amount of diversity.
Cody Alexander
As Alexander explained eloquently:
"Coaches talk about “keep it simple” (KISS) and “playing fast,” but the Houston Texans in 2025 have defined what that actually looks like. Meet what can only be named the “Ass Whooper” defensive scheme."
That's why I think the Texans could end up pulling out this game today.
They're going to pressure and sack Maye. They're going to make him uncomfortable, and ultimately force him into turnovers.
And while I just explained why the Texans defense is great, and should win, they're still a better matchup for the Broncos than the Pats.
Defense-first, grind-it-out to win
With Bo Nix done for the season, breaking his ankle on the third-to-last play of the game, the Broncos have to lean into the identity they've really had all season: Defense-first.
Rich Kurtzman
And in a game vs. the Texans, the Broncos would be expecting a low-scoring, grind-it-out kind of game.
That's the kind of game they can win, versus a shootout they cannot win with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback.
Speaking of Stidham, he's a 6-year NFL veteran who's gone 1-3 as an NFL starter, with the Denver Broncos in 2023, and Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.
In Denver, Stidham finished the 2023 season going 1-1 as the Broncos starter, throwing for 496 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Good for an 87.7 passer rating.
If Bo Nix was considered a game manager, Stidham will be the dumbed down version of that. The simplified version.
"He's ready," Sean Payton said of Stidham. "I said this at the beginning of the season. I feel like I've got a 2 that's capable of starting for a number of teams. And I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.
"He's experienced, he's played in games," Payton continued. "Here we go."
Denver will do even less risky business with Stiddy calling the plays and throwing the ball.
That should work in Denver's favor.
For as good as Stroud can be, he's susceptible to turning the ball over. Just like he did vs. the Steelers. Three times, to be exact.
And Denver's forcing turnovers when they need to the most.
The Broncos had only 14 turnovers forced all season long, but they just forced 5 and enjoyed a +4 differential in the win over the Bills.
Playing Stroud and the Texans would mean a tough Denver pass-rushing defense getting after the quarterback. The hope is they force a turnover or...five? And if so, the Broncos will find a way to win. Of course, Houston's pass rush is scary, too.
But playing the Patriots could mean needing to score in the 30s, which is an extremely long shot with Stidham at QB.
The Patriots host the Texans at 1 p.m. MT on ESPN today.
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