HOUSTON -- As much as it seems like the Texans have been written off coming into their divisional round matchup with a Patriots team that hung a 42-14 loss on them a month ago, defensive lineman Antonio Smith has heard worse.

Back in 2008 when he was with an Arizona Cardinals team that squeezed into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, legendary cornerback and smack-talker Deion Sanders said on the NFL Network that he would sell his tickets to the Super Bowl if the Cardinals somehow found a way to make it there.