Patriots overcome Texans in sloppy affair, advance to AFC Championship Game
Drake Maye’s fumbling woes continued, but he made just enough plays along with the defense to move on to the next round.
The New England Patriots are moving on.
It wasn't easy, but the Pats managed to get on the scoreboard in multiple ways and overcome a glut of turnovers by quarterback Drake Maye, emerging victorious over the Houston Texans by a 28-16 final in the AFC Divisional Playoff game Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots are in the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2018 season, and Pats head coach Mike Vrabel is in it for the second time in his coaching career.
As was widely expected heading into the game, both defenses made it hard for the opposing quarterbacks, both of which struggled mightily with ball security. Maye finished 16-for-27 for 179 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception through the air, but fumbled four times, losing it twice. The teams combined for a whopping eight turnovers in the game, five interceptions (four by Stroud) and three total lost fumbles.
The Pats got the ball first after the Texans won the opening coin toss and deferred. They went three-and-out, as Maye completed 1 of 2 passes, but the Houston defense came as advertised, clogging up the line of scrimmage and covering tightly. The Patriots defense returned the favor by forcing a three-and-out of their own on the Texans' first drive.
Suddenly, the Patriots found success moving the ball on their second possession. Sparked by a 20-yard run to the outside by Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots marched into field goal range, but eventually faced a fourth-and-1 situation. Head coach Mike Vrabel decided to go for it, and Maye completed a short pass to wide receiver DeMario "Pop" Douglas, who was left free to run after the defender slipped in coverage. Douglas breezed into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown catch-and-run to give the Patriots their first lead of the game, 7-0.
The Texans had something of a response after the Pats' score. Stroud dropped back on third-and-6 and eventually found a wide-open Dalton Schultz, who burned the Patriots' blown coverage for a 42-yard gain. A facemask penalty by Carlton Davis III set up first-and-goal at the Pats' 6-yard line, but the defense held strong from there. The Texans backed themselves up with a flag for an illegal shift, then Stroud's third-down pass attempt sailed incomplete in the end zone, so Houston settled for a field goal to make it 7-3.
Maye narrowly avoided disaster on the ensuing Patriots possession. The Texans' Danielle Hunter got his hand on Maye's arm before he could move it forward for a pass attempt, resulting in a fumble. But left tackle Will Campbell fell on it to preserve the ball and allow the Pats to punt it away.
The Texans got favorable field position as a result of the previous drive, and converted a fourth-and-1 run to keep themselves alive. But Stroud then lofted a deep ball down the right sideline intended for Christian Kirk, that Davis leaped and intercepted. But Maye gave the ball right back, as Texans defensive tackle Tommy Togiai punched the ball out for a forced fumble, and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair recovered it to get it back to Stroud.
This time, the Texans really made the Patriots pay. Facing third-and-4 at the New England 10-yard line, Stroud floated it to Kirk at the pylon, where the receiver beat out Marcus Jones for the ball and snuck through the end zone for a touchdown, which put the Texans on top, 10-7.
The Patriots offense couldn't answer, as they picked up a first down but ended up having to punt. However, that's when it became time for the defense to make a big play. Stroud faced imminent pressure from the Patriots' K'Lavon Chaisson, who hit Stroud as he threw, resulting in a floating duck. Marcus Jones came down with it, and put his punt return skills to use with a 26-yard return for the pick-six. The play suddenly put the Patriots up 14-10. Jones became just the second player in NFL history to score two interception return touchdowns and two punt return touchdowns in the same season.
Stroud didn't fare much better on his next chance. On the fourth play of the drive, his pass clanged off the hands of receiver Xavier Hutchinson and into those of rookie safety Craig Woodson for his first career interception.
The teams then traded punts, before the Patriots got the ball back and Maye engineered a drive. Completing two passes for 43 yards to receiver Kayshon Boutte, Maye then finished off the drive with a pass through the tightest of windows to Stefon Diggs in the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Patriots a 21-10 lead with 3:12 left in the first half.
The Texans picked up chunk yardage off a pass interference penalty by Davis, but the cornerback quickly made up for the flag and then some. Stroud threw his fourth interception of the game after trying to throw it in Davis' area again, and the veteran corralled the ball as he chased it down toward the sideline for the pick. The offense couldn't move the ball in the final minute, ultimately taking their 11-point lead to halftime.
Houston got the ball to start the third quarter, and threatened. Stroud went 3-for-5 for 35 yards through the air on the drive, powering the Texans into the red zone. But Marcus Jones ended up deflecting Stroud's third-down attempt, which prompted the Texans to settle for another field goal and make it 21-13.
Maye's fumbling issues carried over into the third quarter, as the Texans' Will Anderson blew by Campbell off the edge and got his hand on the ball before Maye's arm could move forward. The Texans took over at the Patriots 33-yard line, then threatened again with the ball at the 17. But that's when cornerback Christian Gonzalez stepped up to make his biggest play of the game, ripping the ball out of the hands of running back Woody Marks for a forced fumble. Woodson recovered it to get the ball right back to the Pats.
The offense sputtered, going three-and-out and punting back to Houston. The road team picked up another 21 yards on yet another pass interference flag on Davis, but Stroud's ensuing third-down pass was short of the line to gain. The Texans kicked another field goal to continue chipping away, making it a five-point game at 21-16 Patriots, which would be the score as the game crossed into the fourth quarter.
And that's when Maye turned his game up another gear. Maye went 3-for-3 for 48 yards on the drive, capping it with a 32-yard dime to Kayshon Boutte in the end zone. Boutte made a scintillating one-handed grab to corral the ball as he went to the turf.
The touchdown made it 28-16 Patriots, and that's how the score would hold for the rest of the game. The Pats were able to engineer a pair of late clock-killing drives after Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans had used up his timeouts relatively early.
