The chances of cornerback Christian Gonzalez playing against the Texans on Sunday are looking better.
Gonzalez moved from limited to full practice participation at Thursday’s practice. That suggests he’s moving closer to clearing concussion protocol in time to be in the lineup for the divisional round.
Right tackle Morgan Moses (knee) and offensive lineman Thayer Munford (knee) returned to practice on a limited basis. Linebackers Anfernee Jennings (knee) and Harold Landry (knee) remained in the limited category.
Cornerback Alex Austin (wrist), tight end Hunter Henry (knee), running back Terrell Jennings (concussion), and defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (foot) were the team’s full participants.
The Patriots will issue their final injury report for their matchup with Houston on Friday.
Wide receiver Nico Collins wasn’t the only offensive starter out of Texans practice on Thursday.
Right tackle Trent Brown also missed practice for the second straight day. Brown, who played every snap in the team’s win over the Steelers, has been sidelined by an ankle injury.
Defensive lineman Denico Autry (knee) and wide receiver Justin Watson (concussion) were also out of practice. They did not practice on Wednesday either.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), cornerback Kamari Lassiter (ankle, knee), defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (elbow), offensive lineman Tytus Howard (ankle), offensive guard Ed Ingram (shoulder) and running back Jawhar Jordan (ankle) remained limited participants. Safety Jaylen Reed (knee), long snapper Austin Brinkman (knee), and left tackle Aireontae Ersery (thumb) were full participants.
It’s looking like the Texans are going to have to go without wide receiver Nico Collins against the Patriots on Sunday.
Reporters at the open portion of Thursday’s practice noted that Collins was not on the field with the rest of the team. Collins suffered a concussion in the wild card win over the Steelers and did not take part in Wednesday’s practice either.
Given the need to pass through several stages of increased work in order to pass the concussion protocol, it seems unlikely that Collins will have enough time to be cleared for this weekend.
Christian Kirk stepped up with a big game against the Steelers and he is joined at wideout by Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson, Braxton Berrios.
Six down, seven to go.
The postseason is nearly halfway over, after the wild-card round. Simms went 4-2 straight up and 3-3 against the spread; I was 3-3 and 2-4, respectively.
Simms has clinched the straight-up title for the year, at 185-92-1. I’m 177-100-1. Against the spread, I’m clinging to a two-game lead, 141-133-4 and he’s 139-135-4.
This week, we have two disagreements against the spread, and two straight up.
For all division-round picks, you know what to do.
Bills at Broncos (-1.5)
Josh Allen knows the clock is ticking louder and louder on his chances to get to a Super Bowl. This may be his best chance yet to make it, especially without Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow in the playoff field. While the future is extremely bright for the Broncos, this year could end up being another stepping stone toward the ultimate prize.
Florio’s pick: Bills 24, Broncos 21.
Simms’s pick: Bills 24, 21.
49ers at Seahawks (-7)
Sam Darnold gets another chance to make a big play in a big spot, and to avoid making a bad play in a bad spot. And Kyle Shanahan gets another chance to cook up a game plan that will yield more than three points. All the pressure is on Seattle; none of the pressure is on the 49ers. In this round, sometimes that can make all the difference.
Simms, obviously, disagrees. He thinks Darnold will get it done, and that the Seattle defense will once again hold the San Francisco offense in check.
Florio’s pick: 49ers 27, Seahawks 24.
Simms’s pick: Seahawks 27, 49ers 17.
Texans at Patriots (-3)
The Texans’ defense is on par with other great units that carried the franchise to a Super Bowl win. This week, they likely won’t have to overcome a surprisingly poor performance from quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Florio’s pick: Texans 16, Patriots 13.
Simms’s pick: Texans 20, Patriots 17.
Rams (-3.5) at Bears
Who will step up in the fourth quarter, and who will step off? The Bears thrive when they’re firmly behind the 8 ball. And number 18 has shown that, in those moments, he can rise to a higher level.
Simms sees the Rams as being good enough on both sides of the ball to pull away.
Florio’s pick: Bears 30, Rams 27.
Simms’s pick: Rams 38, Bears 27.
The NFL previously applied the term “super” to the wild-card round of the playoffs. This year, the ratings were.
Via Sports Business Journal, the six games televised by Fox (which had two), CBS, Prime Video, NBC and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 attracted an average of 31.9 million viewers.
That’s a 13-percent increase from last year, and the best since the NFL expanded the playoffs from six teams to seven in 2020, which grew the wild-card round from four games to six.
The total average is the best since the four-game format attracted an average of 32.6 million in 2016 for these games: Raiders-Texans, Lions-Seahawks, Dolphins-Steelers, and Packers-Giants. The smallest victory margin that year was 13 points, with an average score of 30-11.
This year, four of the games went down to the wire. Two of the games were lopsided.
