New England's offense faces its toughest scoring defense yet. Can the Texans' suffocating unit expose a potential weakness against the Patriots' star-studded attack?

The Patriots are set to host the Texans in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Here's what to know about the AFC playoff matchup.

The Texans and Patriots are among the hottest teams in the NFL. An early look at the matchup for Sunday's AFC playoff at New England.

Including their win in the wild card round on Monday night, the Texans have now won an NFL-best 10 games in a row. They did so despite facing some very good opponents including four playoff teams (Jaguars, Bills, Chargers, Steelers) as well as Colts and Chiefs teams that were still alive in the postseason hunt at those points.

The New England Patriots are chasing their first AFC Championship Game berth since 2018, and the Houston Texans are the latest roadblock on that comeback tour.

USA Today's NFL experts make their picks for an NFL playoff showdown between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans

The playoff buzz continues to build around Patriot Place, as fans on Tuesday were loading up on gear ahead of the second home game of the postseason. Sunday's game between the Patriots and Houston Texans is shaping up to be a hard-nosed battle.

Houston's defense smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers and also scored two touchdowns in a 30-6 AFC wild-card victory Monday night at Acrisure Stadium. The Texans' 10th consecutive victory was their first win in seven tries on the road in the franchise's playoff history.