Texans' Antonio Smith: "It's gotta be personal"

The Houston Texans have the Patriots right where they want them. Well, not really. They were on their way to a first round bye when they shit the bed and played their way out of the bye.

Houston probably regret hyping up the week 14 matchup against the Patriots. They wore letterman jackets on the way to Gillette Stadium.

The game didn't start out great for the Texans going down 14-0 in the first quarter. That essentially took the biggest element of the Houston offense, Arian Foster, out of the game. Before going to Foxborough, the Texans were actually intimidating to the league, but the Patriots exposed their weak defense and their less than stellar offense. The Texans claimed it was the biggest game in their franchise history, even though last year in the playoffs, they won their first playoff game ever. This time around the Texans expectations from the public eye are lower, which in turn, is a good thing because they don't have to live up to those expectations. They can focus on playing their game and attempt to pull the upset.

Arian Foster had this to say about the matchup:

"I don't know how much I'm going to look at that, man. They're a good team. We're a good team. I'll glance at it. But I'm not going to sit there and burn a candle and watch it."

 The Texans were embarrassed in front of a national audience and they sure as hell don't want that to happen again and they won't let that happen again. Antonio Smith stated his desire to get revenge this week:

"I'm pregnant with (a desire for revenge) and I told them that on the sideline, can't forget it. You gotta take it with you. You gotta feel it in you. Every bit of despair you felt going off the field, you gotta feel it. ... It's gotta be personal."

I believe the Texans can give the Patriots a run for their money. New England will pull this one out, but not without a fight from these Texans.

Follow me on twitter: @joeloobs

Sources:
mobile.masslive.com