ESPN’s ‘NFL Live’ instantly regrets all picking Texans to beat Patriots in divisional round

“New England fans are going to be mad at us.”

January 17, 2026 | 11:10 AM

2 minutes to read

The Patriots are three-point favorites to take down the Texans in Sunday’s divisional round matchup, but everyone on ESPN’s “NFL Live” is going with the underdog — even though they don’t like their picks.

When it was revealed that all five members of “NFL Live” picked the Texans to beat the Patriots in Friday’s episode, each of them expressed some sort of disbelief or regret. ESPN NFL analysts Ryan Clark and Mina Kimes instantly yelled, “No way!” Marcus Spears repeated “change mine.”

“This is bad,” Spears repeatedly added with a laugh.

“NFL Live” host Hannah Storm pointed out that no Houston team (Texans or Oilers) had played in a conference championship game since 1979, while Kimes thought the rest of the panel would’ve changed their picks after Texans wide receiver Nico Collins was ruled out for Sunday’s game.

“I don’t love it,” Dan Orlovsky said. “New England fans are going to be mad at us.”

All five of them picked the Texans to win by only a score, with three of them believing that the Patriots would lose, 20-17.

Something similar nearly happened with ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday, too. Three of the four panelists on Friday’s show picked the Texans (Bart Scott, Peter Schrager, Harry Douglas), while Louis Riddick was the lone panelist to pick the Patriots.

It was a different story on ESPN’s “First Take,” though. Cam Newton and Stephen A. Smith both picked the Patriots to beat the Texans.

“I have to go with the hot team at home,” Newton said. “Given what we’ve seen from C.J. Stroud, it’s going to come down to how he performs in that type of dynamic. The defense that he has and is equipped with will give him opportunities. Will he maximize those opportunities is the biggest question.”

“I’ve been raving about the Houston Texans all year long because their defense is real, it’s spectacular. But C.J. Stroud hasn’t been himself, and we know that,” Smith added. “The guy who was lights outs out in Year 1 hasn’t been that guy in a while. Even though I believe in him and his future is still very, very bright, I believe this is a tall task with Nico Collins going out.

“But I think we need to talk about New England not just from the standpoint that it’s about Drake Maye, but it’s about [Stefon] Diggs, [Hunter] Henry, and the intermediate game. It’s about [Kayshon] Boutte and [Kyle] Williams with the deep. It’s about [Rhamondre] Stevenson and [TreVeyon] Henderson running the football. They’ve got some weapons. When you’ve looked at Houston the rare times they’ve struggled, they’ve had to go against a quarterback with the ability to run.”

As for what other media members are saying for Sunday’s game, two of the four panelists for NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” are picking the Patriots to win Sunday. In ESPN.com’s expert picks, six of the 10 believe New England will beat Houston. Both Mike Florio and Chris Simms of “Pro Football Talk” are picking the Texans to beat the Patriots by one score in a low-scoring affair.

In terms of how the public feels about Sunday’s game, 62 percent of the moneyline bets have been on the Patriots at DraftKings Sportsbook. Fifty-seven percent are picking the Patriots to cover the three-point spread, too.

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