Total Pro Sports
Fans attending the New England Patriots’ Divisional Round game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium will want to dress extra-extra warm.
Coming off a 16-3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional Round, Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots are now just one win away from the AFC Championship Game. They’ll host CJ Stroud and the red-hot Texans at Gillette Stadium (3:00 p.m. EST).
And, well, let’s just say that the weather advantage certainly favors a Patriots squad that’s used to the freezing-cold outdoor games.
Per Noah Bergren of FOX 35 Orlando, heavy snow is in the forecast for the Patriots-Texans game tomorrow. The forecast suggests snow will begin in the morning and run through 12 a.m. EST Monday.
Models locked in now to what I thought would be the case days ago. Euro AI and pattern recognition for the win.
Snow bowl for Pats Texans. Wide area 6-12” of snow from Connecticut to Foxborough and Boston.
Snow starts Sunday morning and ends around 12AM Monday.@PatMcAfeeShow… pic.twitter.com/0PlJPgF7vB— Noah Bergren (@NbergWX) January 17, 2026
Of course, the forecast isn’t always right. Heavy snow was called for the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers Wild Card Round game last Saturday. And much to the chagrin of many football fans, there was no snow for the game.
The Texans are 0-2 against the Patriots in playoff games, losing to them in the 2012 and 2016 Divisional Rounds. Of course, those old Patriots were in the midst of a dynastic run under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Those 2012 and 2016 Texans, of course, didn’t have the lights-out defense that took the NFL by storm in 2025. Houston finished second in scoring defense (17.4 points per game, per Pro Football Reference).
There might not be a better shutdown cornerback than Derek Stingley Jr., for starters. Also, Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. are by far football’s best pass-rushing duo. This should be a very close game that comes down to which club makes the fewest mistakes.
