The New England Patriots are officially headed to Denver for the AFC Championship Game after defeating the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, 28-16.
The New England Patriots’ storybook season rolls on.
On Sunday, New England defeated the Houston Texans, 28-16, in their final home game of a historic worst-to-first campaign.
The turnover-filled, weather-affected January affair swung New England’s way, as their violent defensive approach translated to four first-half interceptions and five takeaways in the game.
How it Went
First Half
Both defenses lived up to their reputations as violent, ball-hawking units, but it was New England that flexed its strength more consistently.
The Patriots and Texans traded three-and-outs to start the game before Drake Maye and the Patriots’ offense put together an early 6 play, 66 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead.
Rhamondre Stevenson got the drive going with a 9-yard reception and a 20-yard run on back-to-back plays before the offense got pushed back into a 3rd-and-14 on the edge of field goal range.
On third down, Maye hit Stefon Diggs over the middle of the field for a catch-and-run of 13 yards. Mike Vrabel elected to go for it on 4th-and-1, and New England put its first points on the board.
Maye connected with DeMario Douglas on a slant route just past the sticks, and Douglas took it the rest of the way for a walk-in score.
Maye finished the drive 4-of-4 with 49 yards and the touchdown pass, but the pendulum would quickly swing in the opposite direction for the Patriots’ offense.
The Patriots’ red zone defense once again rose to the occasion on the Texans’ ensuing possession. Houston’s drive extended inside the one-yard line, but the Texans were held out of the end zone on three tries near the goal line and elected to kick a field goal to make the score 7-3.
New England punted before the teams then traded turnovers. The Patriots’ defense struck aggressively, allowing one first down on a 4th-and-1 conversion, before Carlton Davis grabbed his first of two first-half interceptions near the sideline:
Maye then fumbled on a broken-play rushing attempt just two snaps later to set the Texans up at the Patriots’ 30-yard line at the end of the first quarter. It was Maye’s second of three first-half fumbles — the only one that resulted in a turnover.
Houston responded with a touchdown, as Stroud hung in the pocket against a zero blitz by New England and delivered a strike to Christian Kirk, who hauled in the pass over Marcus Jones for the score.
The Texans took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, but it would be their last of the game.
Turning Point
New England was forced to punt again, and the Texans took over possession at the New England 25-yard line. On the drive’s first play, Stroud rolled out and was hit by K’Lavon Chaisson on his pass attempt.
The ball hung in the air and landed softly in the hands of Marcus Jones, who returned it 26 yards for a Patriots’ touchdown and regained the lead, 14-10, for New England.
It was New England’s second interception of the first half, and they would quickly follow that up with their third, as Craig Woodson picked a tipped ball over the middle of the field on Houston’s ensuing possession.
The teams traded punts before New England’s next offensive explosion, as Maye briefly heated up. He hit Kayshon Boutte twice and Stefon Diggs for a touchdown strike on three consecutive in-breaking routes against the Texans’ zone defense.
The Patriots’ five play, 56 yard scoring drive extended the lead to 21-10 with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. Maye finished that touchdown drive 3-of-3 for 50 yards and the touchdown pass.
New England’s offense showed flashes of greatness in the first half, but their defense was the headliner for the second consecutive playoff win.
Davis secured his second interception — and the Patriots’ fourth of the first half — on Houston’s next offensive possession.
New England took its 21-10 lead into halftime, powered by its best defensive half of football through this point of the season.
The Patriots held the Texans to 12 carries for eight yards on the ground in the first half, and the game script made Houston one-dimensional quickly. Stroud finished the first half 10-for-26 with 124 yards passing, one touchdown, four interceptions, and a passer rating of just 27.2.
Offensively, the Patriots had moments of triumph and tribulation against one of the league’s best defenses in the first half. They were held to 134 total yards in the half, with Maye also struggling to sustain a consistent performance.
Maye finished the first half 10-of-19 with 117 passing yards, 12 rushing yards, two touchdowns, one interception (on a hail mary on the final play of the half), and three fumbles (one lost).
Second Half
Houston got the ball with a chance to trim the Patriots’ lead to one possession at the beginning of the third quarter and mounted a 10 play, 58-yard drive that reached the New England 7-yard line. The Patriots held, as Jones undercut a 3rd-and-2 throw by Stroud, recording a pass break up and holding the Texans to three points in the red zone for the second time on the day.
New England regained possession for the first time in the second half with a 21-13 lead, and Houston’s pass rush continued to bring effective pressure.
Will Anderson, Jr. beat Will Campbell around the edge on third down and forced Maye’s fourth fumble of the game, which was recovered by the Texans at the New England 32-yard line.
Campbell and the offensive line struggled to maintain a clean pocket for Maye throughout the afternoon, but were once again lifted by the Patriots’ swarming defense.
Christian Gonzalez ripped the ball out of Woody Marks’ grasp in the red zone, and Woodson fell on the ball to render the Patriots’ earlier turnover moot.
The fifth takeaway by New England’s defense tied the team's postseason record, originally set in the 2003 AFC Championship Game victory versus Indianapolis.
Those five takeaways didn’t lead to any points for the Patriots’ offense, as their seven points off turnovers came on the pick-six in the first half.
Both offenses continued to struggle in the defensive battle, as the Patriots went three-and-out and New England forced a 51-yard field goal attempt with two minutes remaining in the third quarter to trim the Patriots’ lead to five, 21-16.
Play of the Game
New England began the fourth quarter with possession of the football, and Maye picked an opportunistic moment to show shades of his MVP-caliber performance during the regular season.
He connected with Kayshon Boutte on a 32-yard strike down the right sideline, beating Derek Stingley, Jr. in coverage and extending the Patriots’ lead to two possessions, 28-16.
Boutte beat Stingley, Jr. on the same route when the two teams met last year, and this time, the score put the Texans out of reach. It’s worth a second (and third… and fourth) watch.
Maye finished that drive 3-of-3 for 48 yards and the touchdown pass.
It wasn’t until then that the Patriots’ rushing offense started to make its presence felt. Much like Maye’s sideline touchdown, they picked an opportunistic time to do so.
Following a Houston three-and-out, New England took over possession at its own 4-yard line and drove 44 yards in 10 plays (eight runs, two passes), burning over six minutes of clock and flipping field position before punting.
At that point, the clock was working against the Texans in a 12-point game as much as anything, and they were unable to tighten the game any further in its latter stages prior to time expiring.
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For the second consecutive week in the postseason, New England’s defense stole the show while the young offense looked to find consistency.
The Patriots’ defense held Houston to 241 total yards, 1-of-4 in the red zone, and rattled C.J. Stroud early and often to the tune of 20-of-47 passing for 212 yards, one touchdown, three sacks and four interceptions with a passer rating of 28.0.
Houston’s rushing attack was a non-factor in the game, accruing just 48 yards on 22 attempts and following a trend of swarming defensive play by New England’s rushing defense in recent weeks.
Their five takeaways tied the team’s postseason record, and they continue to prove that they’re just as hot as any defense in the league late into January.
New England dealt with its share of setbacks offensively, turning the ball over three times and converting just three of 14 third down attempts in the game. Overall, Maye’s numbers weren’t eye-popping — 16-of-27 with 191 total yards, three touchdowns, one interception, five sacks, and three fumbles (one lost).
While Maye struggled against another top-ranked defensive unit for the majority of the contest, he once again saved his best moment for the fourth quarter. On New England’s three offensive touchdown drives in the game, Maye finished 10-of-10 for 146 yards and three passing touchdowns.
Maye’s 16 wins this season are tied for the most by any quarterback in their first or second year as a starter in NFL history.
With the win, the Patriots now set their sights on the Denver Broncos and the AFC Championship Game next Sunday.
New England returns to the AFC title game for the first time since the 2018 season, and will put their perfect 8-0 road record to the test once more with a chance to secure a spot in Super Bowl LX.
We’ll be taking a closer look at what went right for New England in their win over Houston, and previewing the AFC Championship showdown in the coming days.
Stay tuned for that and much more on Patriots Roundtable.
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