The New England Patriots host the Houston Texans for Week 14's Monday Night Football matchup taking place at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Texans are the team with the best record in the AFC, however, though 11-1, many around the NFL question how serious this team is and wonder if they can compete against the powerhouses in the NFL.

Tonight, though the Patriots present the less successful record, they will win this game because of their ability to score and the hometown crowd. The Pats are on a six-game winning streak and they have blown teams out easily throwing up 40+ points a game. 

However, one must give respect to the Texans defense, which is one of the best in the league. J.J. Watt is a complete force on defense, but if Tom Brady gets protection and proves the Pats are the dominant team on offense, Watt will not be a factor tonight.

The Patriots have the best offense in the NFL averaging 35.8 points and totaling 426.2 yards per game. Matt Schuab will have to depend more on his arm as the Patriots are 8th in the league allowing just 100 yards per game on the ground. Arian Foster is a force running the ball and will in fact challenge the Patriots, but I believe the Patriots will make the stops.

The Texans were vulnerable in recent weeks giving up 37 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars and then got lucky on a touchdown that never was and barely got past the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The Lions dropped 31 points on the Texans in that game.

The Texans have been unable to stop elite offenses and we saw this when Aaron Rodgers completely lit them up for six touchdowns. After looking perfect for the first five weeks of the season, Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers made the Texans look like the expansion team from the early 2000's. 

NFL teams are NFL teams, but the Texans had defeated teams like the Miami Dolphins, Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets and they played a still recovering Peyton Manning early on in the season.

This easy schedule set them up to go on a great run at the beginning of the season. Playing in a weaker AFC South division will make a team like the Texans look like superstars any day. Combined, the teams the Texans have faced this season are a combined 41-68. 

They have a chance to solidify themselves as a force in the NFL if they can get by Brady and the Pats, but the Patriots are taking this one. 

Don't miss this matchup as it has playoffs written all over it. This could be a warm up to a possible AFC Championship game. 

Score Prediction: I don't see this one being a high scoring affair, but one can never count out Brady's ability. Final score will be 27-24 Patriots.