HOUSTON (AP) – The Panthers and Patriots can only hope their next trip to Houston will be easier than their last.

During the regular season, the Texans beat Carolina and took New England to the waning moments of overtime – both times at Reliant Stadium.

So it stands to reason that they are in a good position to talk about the two teams preparing for the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.

“I’m sure when each team looks down at the schedule and starts studying, they’ll probably look at our game,” Texans defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Especially with two weeks to prepare.”

Houston and New England are among the minority of teams that employ a 3-4 defensive set.

The Panthers will study the game film to see how the Texans scored two touchdowns in a 23-20 overtime loss to the Patriots.

The Patriots can use it to see how the Texans stifled the Panthers in a 14-10 victory.

Center Steve McKinney said field position helped the Texans when they played the Patriots.

Adam Vinatieri chipped in a 28-yard field goal to end the game with 41 seconds left in overtime.

One of Houston’s scores was set up by a long fumble return and the other came off a long interception return.

“We put up 20, but those two touchdowns were with pretty good field position,” McKinney said. “That’s rare for them to turn the ball over in those situations, but the NFL is a crazy league where anything can happen.”

Just three weeks before, the Panthers gained 100 more yards than the Texans and Stephen Davis had 153, although his longest run was for 19 yards and he never found the end zone.

“They’re going to make some yards, but you can’t let them get a big, big one on the running game,” Fangio said.

Texans players have their own ideas about how to crack the two talented defenses scheduled to arrive in Houston on Sunday.

“You have to beat their blitz,” Texans quarterback Tony Banks said of the Patriots. “Their secondary is good, but when they blitz the house, you have to be able to exploit it.”

As for the Panthers, left tackle Chester Pitts said the best course is attacking their vaunted defensive line.

“I believe (in) blocking up front and run effectively through the tackles,” Pitts said. “If you can manage that, hopefully you can squeak through the cracks and go. It’s hard to go sideline to sideline, but if it’s there, you have to take it.”

Though the Texans are not in the Super Bowl, McKinney said they can take pride in knowing they gave the last teams standing plenty of problems last November.

“That’s pretty cool, the more I think about it,” he said.

AP-ES-01-24-04 1606EST