Josh McDaniels details his approach to prepping for Texans

When the New England Patriots play the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round Sunday at 3 p.m. EST, they will face arguably the most dominant defenses in the NFL. And offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels knows he will have his hands full this weekend.

"It's really good," McDaniels said of the Texans defense on Thursday. "It's the best one we've played all year, and that's saying a lot because we played some really good ones this year."

Statistically, the Houston Texans defense is one of the best units in football, ranking highly in yards allowed (first) points allowed (second) first downs allowed (first) and rushing yards allowed (fourth).

"There's nothing they don't do well, so you can start with that," McDaniels told reporters Thursday. "They're very connected. They don't make any mistakes. You're not going to get lucky and have them blow four coverages and gain 200 yards. Everything you get, you will earn. Every snap, every down, will be difficult."

The Patriots offensive line will be busy trying to slow down the pass rushing tandem of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. McDaniels noted what his young O-line will be up against.

"The reality is, at some point in every play it becomes one-on-one somewhere, you know what I mean?" McDaniels said. "We're not going to double-team everybody on every play. It's impossible. And we don't need to. You have to pick your spots on when you need to provide some different looks. I would say more than anything else. They're going to rush, we're going to have to block them, we're going to throw the ball, they're going to have to cover. You're going to need to do almost everything you do well enough to stay ahead on the down and distance to stay on track and give yourself opportunities to finish drives. There's not going to be any shortcuts to this."

Along with limiting points and yards, the Texans defense has excelled at keeping offenses off the field. Opposing offenses have averaged just two minutes and 15 seconds (first) per drive, as well as just under six plays per drive (second).

Possessions will be a premium on Sunday, which means Drake Maye's ball security will also have to be on point. McDaniels is confident his quarterback won't have the same issues (one interception, two fumbles, one lost) that he had last week against the Los Angeles Chargers.

"We love that he ran for 66 yards and he handled the ball in those situations and converted on third and short and all the rest of it," McDaniels said. "I've tried really hard not to talk out of both sides of my mouth where I'm saying, 'Hey, don't do this, but do that.' Or clap when it goes good and be upset when it doesn't.

"[Drake] knows the priority. He knows the importance of taking care of the football and ending every drive with some form of a kick would be ideal for us this week. He understands that. So, I trust him implicitly to do the right thing for our football team. I know he's prepared. I know he's preparing his butt off right now and he'll be ready to go."