The New England Patriots are the home team and No. 2 seed in the AFC entering their Divisional Round matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Despite that, a lot of people are picking the Texans to win the football game.
That includes the entire crew of ESPN's NFL Live:
Wait for the NFL Live crew to realize they all picked Houston 😭 pic.twitter.com/62sNKE0MVj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 16, 2026MORE: Cam Ward can add John Harbaugh to his list of doubters
This is a classic setup for a jinx and a potential meme.
If the Patriots win the game, their fans will certainly have fun sharing screenshots of all those picks of the Texans.
The game will likely be decided by the Texans' defense against the Patriots' offense.
If Houston gets Drake Maye on the ground a lot and crushes him with a bunch of big hits, it could be a long day for New England.
If the Pats can keep Maye upright, they've got a lot of offensive talent.
Houston beat the Steelers in the first round thanks to a pair of defensive touchdowns against Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers.
The Pats won in part because their defense shut down the Chargers' offense entirely.
There's a lot of intrigue, and now there's some doubters for the Patriots to prove wrong.
More NFL news:
- Patriots, Drake Maye silence doubters with callback to Brady, Belichick
- A.J. Brown makes a disrespectful decision after season-ending loss
- New perspective on Tua Tagovailoa and his head injuries
- Reddit proves Justin Herbert turns into Shedeur Sanders in the playoffs
- Bills, Josh Allen never stopped pushing, and the Super Bowl dream is alive
- Panthers make decision on Bryce Young's future in Carolina

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