A federal appeals court reinstated Tom Brady's four-game suspension, which is a stroke of good luck for the Houston Texans.
Brady hasn't been kind to the Texans in recent years. Not even when he faced his friend and former coach Bill O'Brien last season.
The Texans have only beat the Patriots once during the Brady era, and that was in a Week 17 game that was essentially a throwaway for the then one-loss Patriots.
No non-divisional quarterback has thrown more regular-season touchdowns against the Texans than Brady has since 2001 when he became the Patriots full-time starter. In six games, he's thrown 12 touchdowns and four interceptions with a 101 passer rating.
During his active three-game winning streak against the Texans, he's thrown eight touchdowns and one interception, averaging 297 yards passing per game. That's not counting the 2012 playoff game in which Brady threw three touchdowns and had 344 yards with no turnovers and a passer rating of 115. The Texans lost that game, 48-21, just a month after losing 41-14 to Brady's Patriots in the regular season.
In all, the Patriots have outscored the Texans by 98 points in the Brady era.
Some might be inclined to fall back on the cliché that to be the best you have to beat the best. That's all well and good, but sometimes a little good fortune can help.
The Texans got plenty of help in getting into the playoffs last season at 9-7. They won the AFC South because the Colts, Jaguars and Titans struggled, allowing Houston to recover from a 2-7 start.
In Week 3, Brock Osweiler and the Texans offense might still be going through growing pains. If they can pull out a win early in the season against an AFC opponent, that will help their playoff chances tremendously. Brady's absence might diminish the emotional impact of a rare win against New England, but that will matter little if the Texans notch a winning record and return to this year's postseason.
Once you get to the playoffs, any team can make a run. If this iteration of Brady's suspension holds, which is likely, it is a very lucky break for Houston.