Houston’s 19-13 win over Cincinnati Saturday in the wild-card round of the playoffs can be seen as a positive for the Patriots on two fronts: It gave them an extra day to prepare for the Texans because they knew their opponent before Sunday, and it brings a team that New England already has dominated this season back to Gillette Stadium.

In a conference call Sunday afternoon, Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke highly of the Texans, especially defensive end J.J. Watt and running back Arian Foster.