But on Thursday, Tom Brady offered a reason to watch, if only for a series or two.
The quarterback addressed the media, saying he expects to be in the game on Sunday.
"[Head coach Bill Belichick] says, 'You'll play. Don't worry about that. You'll be playing,'" Brady said.
Heading into the game, the best possible result for the Patriots would be cementing the No. 3 seed in the AFC. The Texans, meanwhile, can make the playoffs with a win and a combination of losses by the Jets, Ravens and Broncos.
But Brady pointed to the Patriots' 2-5 road record this season as something the Patriots can build on this weekend.
"I want to play and I want to do great, and I want to have a great game against a team who’s fighting for their playoff lives, and has a lot of great players, and really challenges you in some different ways," Brady said. "This is a meaningful game for us. It’s a meaningful game for them, too. It would be great for us to go and win on the road in a really tough environment against a damn good team."
Brady, the ultimate competitor, also said there is plenty of pride on the line.
"Losing in general stinks," he said . "My dad said, ‘Are you guys going to play this week?’ Of course, I want to play. I don’t want to lose a game. It’s not like you just forfeit these games for us. I’m playing Houston. I don’t want [the Texans] in the offseason to see one of these guys and be like, ‘Hey, we beat you guys.’ Screw that. I just think you’ve got to go out there and play."
Sunday's game will also mark the first time since September of 2008 that Brady steps on the same field as Bernard Pollard, the former Chiefs safety who ended Brady's 2008 season and now starts in Houston's defensive backfield.
"I don’t have many feelings toward that," Brady said when asked about the meeting. "That play has really come and gone in my mind. He's a really good player for team and does some good things for them.
"He’s someone that we have to do a good job keeping away from the quarterback because he’s a good blitzer."
That may qualify for the understatement of the millenium.
