HOUSTON – The Texans and the Patriots are just a few days away from a rematch in Foxborough.
Texans left tackle Duane Brown is loving his return to the postseason.
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He missed it last year, and now he's just happy to be playing, and playing at a high level.
Brown also missed the early part of this season, including the September debacle in Foxborough when the Texans lost 27-0 to a Patriots team playing without quarterback Tom Brady.
“That game, watching from sidelines, was very tough to deal with,” said Brown on Tuesday. “Just tried to do my part being as vocal of a leader as possible.”
A year later, Brown is back, stronger than ever, and is fully recovered from last year’s leg injury.
His career was never in doubt.
“In my mind, just getting back to the level I’m accustomed to was my main goal,” said Brown. "I was able to do that rather quickly, I was never in doubt that I’d be back. It was a hard injury to come back from but I knew I’d be back.”
Brown is the veteran leader of the Texans offensive line.
On Tuesday, Bill Belichick praised Brown, saying he was one of the best lineman in all of the NFL.
That's quite a compliment from one of the all-time coaching greats.
“That’s high praise and I’m humbled by that coming from one of the greatest coaches of all time and certified Hall of Fame coach,” Brown said at the NRG Stadium podium before practice. "It means a lot to me and it’s coaches like him that make me work on my craft. I’m thankful for that.”
Compliments aside, Saturday is about beating the long odds and stealing a win in the Patriots' backyard.
“The kind of things we’ve gone through, there are not many people that think we’ll compete in this game,” said Brown. “We don’t care though. We are here for a reason and it will be very tough. We know the kinds of challenges they will bring. Our team is confident and our team has a lot of unity. We played well last week and we’ll keep that going."