FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots practice Friday inside Gillette Stadium as they prepare for their Divisional Round Matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday. Head Coach Mike Vrabel said cornerback Christian Gonzalez and pass rusher Harold Landry are both questionable for the game.
Houston will be without their top receiver, Nico Collins, who missed practice this week as he was in concussion protocol.
[ Patriots announce Friday injury report ahead of divisional round matchup ]
Vrabel spoke highly of the other Texans’ wideouts and their defense.
“I know it’s going to be a hotly contested battle. That’s what it’s about. Doing it each and every snap, then coming back to the huddle.”
Rookies like Wide Receiver Efton Chism experienced playoff football for the first time. The Eastern Washington alum praised the fans last Sunday during the Chargers game.
“For the guys that haven’t played in the playoffs, it was nice to get that win and feel that environment as a whole. We were just excited to play football,” Chism said. “It was sweet. Super cool. Coming from a small school, you don’t get to experience a lot of that, and they brought it, and I’m excited to see it this weekend as well.”
Patriots Safety Jaylinn Hawkins says Sunday’s matchup will come from executing what they worked on during the week. He hopes to see Gillette rocking once again this weekend.
“It was tough. The crowd was hella loud. I was bouncing and yelling as much as possible, but they can’t really hear me,” Hawkins said.
The defense had to resort to using hand signals to communicate with one another. One it creates some changes for how they communicate; Hawkins says he loves how loud it can be with the fans.
“It makes it more fun when you hear the crowd out there roaring,” he said. “The fans are in it with us. So it’s a dope feeling out there.”
The Patriots host the Texans at 3 pm on Sunday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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