The Greatest Villain In the History of All 32 NFL Teams

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans don’t have a lengthy playoff history, but what they have has taken place entirely within the era of the New England Patriots dynasty. So like many teams their playoff disappointments can be traced to run-ins with that franchise. One might think this would make Tom Brady or Bill Belichick their obvious demons of choice.

In truth though, another unheralded Patriot player seemed to do his best work against them. In 2012, the Texans went into Foxborough on a hot streak. They’d gone 12-4 during the season and won their first playoff game. Unfortunately, they learned a hard lesson against the Patriots:  you can’t make mistakes. Defensive end Rob Ninkovich proved that with a key interception of Matt Schaub that helped pave the way to a 41-28 win for New England.

Four years later it was more of the same. The Texans had momentum going into the game and again their offense couldn’t avoid critical mistakes. Ninkovich had a hand in their misery again, sacking Brock Osweiler during the game. It was another runaway as the Patriots won 34-16. He may not be a household name, but the man certainly knew how to run Houston the wrong way.