Nico Collins injury: Top Texans receiver ruled out for divisional round game vs. Patriots with concussion
Houston's offense takes a massive hit
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1 min read
The Houston Texans will be without their top wideout for Sunday's divisional round showdown against the New England Patriots as Nico Collins has been ruled out due to a concussion.
Collins was injured late in the third quarter of Houston's 30-6 wild card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers after catching three passes for 21 yards. Collins did not practice on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday as he attempted to work through the concussion protocol.
In 15 regular season games this year, Collins caught 71 passes for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. He tied Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins in having the most consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards receiving in franchise history with three. He entered this postseason boasting the fifth-most playoff receiving yards per game (91.8) in NFL history (minimum four games played).
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Jordan Dajani
Collins a big-bodied target that can beat safeties deep for long touchdowns. With Collins out, more pressure will be placed on players like Jayden Higgins and Xavier Hutchinson, but Christian Kirk is the receiver to watch. He caught eight of nine targets on Monday night for a career-high 144 yards and a touchdown. Kirk averaged just 18.2 receiving yards per game in the regular season.
This Patriots defense will be a tough test for quarterback C.J. Stroud, as coach Mike Vrabel's unit had Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert looking like a rookie in the wild card round. In the Patriots' 16-3 victory, Herbert completed 19 of 31 passes for 159 yards. The Chargers offense as a whole scored three points, converted just one third down and recorded 207 total yards.
Stroud's lone 300-yard game this season came without Collins in the lineup. In a 26-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 8, Stroud completed 30 of 39 passes for 318 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Hutchinson was the game's leading receiver that day with 69 yards and a touchdown.
