Belichick expects different Texans

Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

A regular-season rout can be a poor predictor of the postseason rematch.

Coach Bill Belichick has another chance to remind his New England Patriots of that less than a month after their 42-14 romp that shoved the Houston Texans into their late-season plunge.

The stakes will be much higher when the Texans return next Sunday to the field where they flopped. The winner of the divisional-round matchup goes to the AFC championship game.

“The game that we play now doesn’t have much to do with the game we played before,” Belichick said Sunday, one day after the Texans advanced with a 19-13 wild-card win over the Cincinnati Bengals

Two years ago, the Patriots beat the New York Jets 45-3 in the 12th game of the season. Just six weeks later, the Patriots had the NFL’s best record but lost to the Jets 28-21 in a divisional game.

It’s a history lesson Belichick is sure to review this week.

“I don’t think it’s anything that wasn’t mentioned until that situation occurred, but it’s an example we can point out,” he said in a conference call during a break from preparing for the Texans. “We talked about that many times before, how other games don’t have anything to do with this game. It stands on its own.

“That is and always will be the case, but it’s an example to point out of how little relevance the previous game with the same team really does have.”

Belichick expects many more changes than just the personnel.

“When you play a team twice during the season, the games are totally different. They never go the same way,” he said. “We’ll be able to certainly look at some of the matchups individually, guys that faced each [other] in the game. As far as plays and calls and things like that matching up, I’m sure they’ll have some new wrinkles. I’m sure we’ll have some, too.”