Texans fans are so excited about the season some are predicting a victory over New England in the first game.

Despite the Texans never winning at Gillette Stadium.

Despite the Patriots having the best coach-quarterback combo in NFL history.

Despite the Patriots being favored to win another Super Bowl.

The last time the Texans played at New England, they made Bill Belichick’s throat get a little dry. He couldn’t relax until Tom Brady threw his fifth touchdown pass to pull out a 36-33 victory with 23 seconds remaining in the third game of last season.

The Texans who play at Gillette Stadium on Sunday are better than the Texans who blew last year’s game by allowing Brady to bomb them into submission with 378 yards and no interceptions.

The team general manager Brian Gaine and coach Bill O’Brien have put together is capable of winning at New England. The Texans showed that a year ago, and changes on both sides of the ball and special teams should make them significantly better.

In the first game of 2017, Kansas City won 42-27 at New England. What are the odds the Patriots will lose two consecutive openers at home? Miniscule.

In their last 10 home openers, the Patriots are 8-2. They’ve undergone a lot of changes, especially on offense, but as long as Belichick and Brady are there, New England will be favored to win every home game.

As it should be when you’re one of the most prolific dynasties in sports history.

With so many changes on both sides of the ball, the Patriots may not be as good right away as the team that lost the Super Bowl to Philadelphia.

The Texans are light years improved from last year when injuries decimated the roster in a 4-12 season. Of the 53 players on the roster at the end of last season, 31 aren’t among the current 53.

And the Texans are better than the team that lost by three at New England last season.

Most important, look at the team’s injury situation. This may be the healthiest they’ll be this season. And that’s just to start.

Let’s look at the offense.

Deshaun Watson has a season of experience. He’s coming off major knee surgery and didn’t play much in preseason, so it won’t be surprising if he starts slow and gradually improves to a point where he can dominate as he did in six starts last season.

Watson should have Will Fuller playing opposite DeAndre Hopkins. Fuller missed the New England game last season because he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

Fuller, whose 13 catches from Watson produced seven touchdowns, creates additional problems for the defense because of his speed.

Watson has four new starters in his line - tackles Julién Davenport and Seantrel Henderson and guards Zach Fulton and Senio Kelemete. Nobody is making predictions about how effective the linemen can be protecting Watson and clearing paths for the running backs, but they do believe this line will be improved over last season.

Watson has three new receivers coming off the bench in rookies Keke Coutee and Vyncint Smith and veteran Sammie Coates Jr.

Watson also has two new backup tight ends in rookies Jordan Akins and Jordan Thomas.

Besides Watson, the only starters returning from last season’s game at New England are Hopkins, running back Lamar Miller, tight end Ryan Griffin and center Nick Martin.

Now, let’s check out the defense.

Romeo Crennel is making the defensive calls again.

The biggest change on defense is in the secondary. Safety Tyrann Mathieu and cornerback Aaron Colvin were signed as free agents. Safety Justin Reid was the top draft choice. Kareem Jackson was moved from cornerback to safety.

Cornerback Kevin Johnson, who missed the New England game and was in concussion protocol in preseason, is expected to play.

This Texans’ secondary should be so much better than the one torched by Brady last season.

You would think a good pass rush would help, right? Of course.

But last season, Brady was sacked five times by the Texans, including twice by Jadeveon Clowney. He was knocked down eight times. And he was still phenomenal getting the ball to his receivers when he needed to.

That’s why Brady’s the best quarterback in history.

That type of pass rush is essential if the Texans are going to win at Gillette Stadium for the first time. The front seven was healthy in last season’s game and generated enough pressure on Brady to win, but the coverage collapsed.

Can the Texans shock the NFL by upsetting the Patriots?

Imagine the excitement level in Houston if they’re able to start 1-0 before going to Tennessee for the second game against Mike Vrabel and the Titans.

Remember, though, the Texans are 1-9 against the Patriots, including playoffs. They’re 0-4 under O’Brien, and they’ve been outscored 31 to 13.7.

They’re a long shot, but at least they’ll have a shot.

john.mcclain@chron.com

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