What to watch for when the Patriots play the Texans

Here are seven storylines to follow when the Patriots host the Houston Texans in Sunday’s regular-season opener at Gillette Stadium.

FOXBORO – Seven storylines to follow when the Patriots can officially put a long, tumultuous offseason behind them by hosting the Houston Texans Sunday at 1 p.m. (Ch. 4, WBZ-FM/98.5) in the two teams’ regular-season opener at Gillette Stadium:

Familiar foes: No strangers here, this game will mark the fifth time the Patriots and Texans have met in either the regular season or the postseason since Dec. 13, 2015, (the sixth meeting counting last year’s preseason game when they also held joint training camp practices together) with the Patriots winning all five, adding to their domination of the all-time series, which stands at 9-1 (including the last seven).

It’s mentioned ad nauseam whenever these two teams meet, but the Texans’ coaching staff features some very familiar faces.

Former Patriots offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien’s staff includes assistant head coach-defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, Bill Parcells’ defensive line coach (1993-1996) who later served as Bill Belichick’s coordinator (2001-2004); special teams coordinator Brad Seely, the special teams coach from Pete Carroll’s last year in New England (1999) through 2008; and offensive assistant-special teams assistant Wes Welker, whose 672 receptions at wide receiver from 2007-2012 rank first all-time in Patriots annals.

O’Brien was a member of Belichick’s staff from 2008-2011, rising from his original role as the team’s wide receivers coach.

Mr. Watson, come here: Coming off the surgery he underwent last November to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in practice, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson played just five series during the preseason but, by all accounts, showed no ill aftereffects from the injury this summer.

Still just 22 years old (he turns 23 on Sept. 14), Watson was tied for the NFL lead in touchdown passes with 19, boasted a passer rating of 103.0 and had rushed for 269 yards and two scores when his rookie year came to an end, his efforts including a 301-yard passing performance with two TDs (albeit with two interceptions) while rushing eight times for 41 yards (he also fumbled twice in the game) in a 36-33 loss to the Patriots.

The Houston hit men: He dusted himself off to throw for five touchdowns, including a 25-yard game winner to Brandin Cooks with 23 seconds to go, but when they met last September the Texans hit Tom Brady eight times, sacked him on five occasions and forced him to fumble three times with Pro Bowl linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (who had three hits, two sacks and scooped up a fumble and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown off a Whitney Mercilus strip sack) leading the way.

Limited by back and leg injuries to just eight games over the past two seasons, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt is healthy (he played in that game last September, registering six tackles, three for loss, and two quarterback hits) and may get the marquee treatment, but the Texans’ supporting cast in the front seven is impressive.

Given his ability, though, the damage Watt has inflicted against the Patriots over the years has been modest: 24 tackles with one-half sack in six games.

Can someone lend a hand?: Lacking Julian Edelman, who will be serving the first of his four-game suspension for violating the league policy against performance-enhancing substances, the Patriots’ wide receiver corps consists of Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson, waiver wire pickup Chad Hansen, practice squad graduate Riley McCarron and, if they ever so desire, special teams standout Matthew Slater.

Look for Brady to try and compensate by relying on tight end Rob Gronkowski and dumping the ball off to running backs James White and Rex Burkhead.

What’s my line?: After surrendering 54 sacks last season – only Indianapolis (56) yielded more – the Texans took a reasonable course of action.

They fired the majority of those responsible.

Gone are guards Xavier Su’a-Filo and Jeff Allen and tackles Breno Giacomini and Chris Clark. Here are guards Zach Fulton and Senio Kelemete and tackle Seantrel Henderson, all of whom were signed as free agents during the offseason.

Center Nick Martin, who started 14 games before breaking his ankle last season, and Julie’n Davenport, who started three games at left tackle last year as a rookie, are the holdovers in the revamped starting line.

Go with the Flo(w): Linebackers coach Brian Flores’ regular-season debut as the Patriots’ de facto defensive coordinator will be a true test.

Beyond the sideline-to-field communication, which it’s only natural to monitor with a new man calling the shots, there’s the fact that he must defend a quarterback with mobility, a trait that’s posed problems to the Patriots in the past.

A week after their win over Watson and the Texans last season, Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers came to town and put up another 33 on the Patriots in a 33-30 win against then-defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s defense last fall.

Defending DeAndre: Coming off a 96-reception, 1,378-yard, 13-touchdown season, at 26 years of age DeAndre Hopkins has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the game.

Hopkins merely has to show up on Sunday to create mismatches for cornerbacks.

The Patriots have managed to keep Hopkins out of the end zone to this point. In five games against against them, he’s caught 22 passes in 36 targets for 326 yards without a single TD.