When: Monday, December 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Live Stream: NFL.com
Betting Line: New England -4 (Bovada)
While I won't go so far as to say that the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs is on the line, it's certainly in play when these two teams meet.
Houston is up two game on the Patriots, who are in a three-way tie for the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.
With a win, the Pats move one step closer to getting a bye week and overtaking the Texans, but this game is not the end-all be-all game.
New England still has to play the San Francisco 49ers and Houston still has the play the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts twice. However, winning this game is a big step toward getting that crucial bye.
Johnson has been getting it done in the last few weeks despite a poor performance against the Tennessee Titans last week.
Even when you include his 56-yard performance against the Titans last week, in the last three games he is averaging 9.3 receptions on 14.7 targets per game, and is going for 172.3 yards per game.
The Pats rank 27th in the league against fantasy wide receivers, and you can bet that Johnson is going to have a big day on Monday night.
Projected Stats: 12 receptions, 140 yards, 1 TD
Houston's defense is tough, but its one weakness comes in the passing game. The team ranks 19th in the league against the pass, and 23rd against fantasy receivers.
Welker is Tom Brady's top target, and with Rob Gronkowski out, he should rack up the receptions.
In the team's last game he was targeted 18 times and caught 12 passes. He has also found the end zone in each of the last two games, and should find it one more time on Monday.
Look for Welker to be one of the top receivers this week.
Projected Stats: 15 receptions, 176 yards, 1 TD
