The Houston Texans’ defense might not be the only challenge the New England Patriots will have to deal with in the Divisional Round. Their young receiving core is equally explosive despite losing two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins to a concussion on Monday. Patriots safety Jaylin Hawkins has already alerted his teammates of what to expect, as things could get really intense in no time.

“They still got good players that could step up. You got 19, you got 81 the rookie he’s nice, 14 is a good receiver too, you still got [Christian] Kirk. Lot of good players, so gotta be prepared,” Hawkins said to the reporters on Jan 16.

The Patriots’ defense will certainly be happy about not facing Collins. But Hawkins has made it clear that they cannot be complacent. Texans have more than enough weapons to bring some damage.

The lineup that he is talking about consists of two former Iowa State wideouts, Jayden Higgins (#81) and Jaylin Noel (#14). They’re heading to Foxborough with a clear mind and know this could be their opportunity to catch the spotlight.

At college, they were arguably the nation’s best wide receiving duo and shared the Gary Thompson Iowa State Male Athlete of the Year honor in 2025.  It was just the fifth time in school history that the Cyclones has had co-athlete of the year award winners.

This season, Higgins has already shown his relevance, catching six touchdowns for 525 yards while running 363 routes. He hasn’t looked overwhelmed one bit.

Meanwhile, Noel has been equally productive. He’s racked up two touchdowns for 292 receiving yards and a total of 26 receptions. These figures indicate they’re more than capable of causing trouble.

Similarly, the workload will be distributed among the third-year WR Xavier Hutchinson (#19) and veteran star Christian Kirk. On Monday night vs. the Steelers, Kirk was quite productive. He finished with eight catches on nine targets for 144 yards. That was a franchise postseason record, surpassing Collins’ mark from last year’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round.

It also proved significant, as Kirk hadn’t posted a single 100-yard game in 13 regular-season appearances. That performance was a reminder of what he can be when the situation arises.

Regardless, the challenge to play a dominant Patriots team at their home won’t be easy. The Patriots defense is ranked No. 9 for the least passing yards allowed per game. They’ll also have top cornerback Christian Gonzalez returning from a concussion. It will be a real contest.

Texans OC shares optimism for Patriots game despite Nico Collins’ setback

It was quite a disturbing moment when Collins was concussed during the 30-6 win over the Steelers on Monday. The injury came on a play where he tried to catch a throw from C.J. Stroud, with Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. decked all over his back. He fell face-first and immediately put both hands to his face. Before leaving the game, he caught three passes on seven targets for 21 yards.

According to Texans insider Jonathan M. Alexander, Collins didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday and also remained unavailable for Friday’s session. Eventually he got ruled out for the Sunday showdown.

In 15 regular-season games, Collins’ 71 receptions were easily the most among Houston wide receivers and trailed only tight end Dalton Schultz (82) in the overall team tally. He led the Texans in receiving yards with 1,117 and racked up six touchdowns.

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Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley believes the group can handle the adjustment just fine.

“We’ll be able to adjust and move guys around. The value of those guys in that room is that they’ve moved around quite a bit. Those guys have played a lot of different positions, from Z to X, X to Z, inside to outside, etc. We’ve got a lot of faith in whoever’s out there in that regard,” the OC said this week.

Also, there is some optimism from quarterback CJ Stroud’s end. During the Week 8 showdown against the 49ers (26-15), Stroud completed 30 of 39 passes for 318 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Now he will have one more opportunity to prove that it was not all luck but his accuracy that made all the difference for his team.

Sunday’s matchup will be a real test for both the young QBs to prove their mettle in front of an electric crowd at Gillette Stadium. And this time, the stakes are big!