Patriots hold off Texans in turnover-filled divisional game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.–It certainly wasn’t a work of football art.

In a turnover-filled game that matched the forecast for sloppy, snowy weather new England Patriots Took some big timely plays on defense and offense to set the record 28-16 victory over houston texans Sunday in an AFC divisional round playoff game.

The Patriots’ defense forced five turnovers while holding down the Texans quarterback. CJ Stroud Four times, and New England quarterback drake may Overcame three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) to help the No. 2 seed advance, throwing three touchdowns in the win.

Patriots will now take to the streets to face this denver broncos on Sunday (3 PM ET, CBS) with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. He will face Denver’s backup quarterback jarrett stidham As he tends to the wounded bo nix. New England will look to bring that aggressive style of play to Denver, which has traditionally been a home of horrors for the franchise, especially in the postseason.

Here are the most important things to know from Sunday for both teams:

new England Patriots

What is meant by QB performance: Mays’ ball protection was weak, partly due to his pass protection issues. He had four fumbles, bringing his season total to 14 – easily the league leading one. Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers), Sam Darnold (Seahawks) and cam ward (Titans), who have 11. Of those 14, Mayes has lost six of them, tied with Darnold for second (only Ward, with 7, has more). Mays became just the second player in the last 15 years to have three fumbles in a half of a playoff game, joining Stroud – who did the same last week. But when Mays needed to throw big time, he threw the ball with pinpoint accuracy to a receiver on a 32-yard touchdown strike. kayshon boute. He completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns and one pick.

turn: The Patriots trailed 10–7 early in the second quarter when Stroud threw an unfair pop-up pass under pressure from the defensive end/outside linebacker. K’Lavon Chaissonwith cornerback marcus jones Turning it over and then running 26 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots went ahead 14–10 and never trailed again.

Viewing Trends: The Patriots limited the Texans to 8 rushing yards on 12 carries in the first half as they owned the line of scrimmage. Stroud’s mistakes in the passing game contributed to the Texans being one-dimensional. That formula could be key against the Broncos and Stidham, who is being thrust into the spotlight.

Statistics to know: receiver stefon diggs‘The 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was the 49th catch of his career, getting a touchdown on a ball thrown in the end zone, the fourth-highest catch since entering the NFL as a fifth-round pick. minnesota vikings In 2015. Only mike evans (74), davante adams (73) And deandre hopkins (54) is more.

Most Amazing Performance: cornerback Carlton Davis IIIIt’s a big day. He had two interceptions in the first half, and he skillfully stayed in range on the sideline on both of them. Davis entered Sunday’s game playing 90.9% of defensive snaps and was looking for his first interception of the season. Davis, a second-round pick by the Buccaneers in 2018, entered the game with 11 career interceptions in eight seasons. –Mike Rees

houston texans

Is it 2024, 2025 or 2026? Either way, the Texans, again, were not ready to make history.

Houston was 0-6 in the divisional round before the matchup against the Patriots, but looked like it might reach the elusive conference championship this season.

The Texans were on a 10-game winning streak and had just beaten pittsburgh steelers In last week’s wild-card round. Houston’s defensive unit, one of the league’s best, had to play in snowy, cold field conditions that could favor a more physical style of defense.

But against the Patriots, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. quarterback CJ Stroud — playing without his top two targets at receiver Nico Collins Dismissed after Friday Suffered a stroke last week Wild-card game and tight end Dalton Schultz second trimester exit With a calf injury – arguably the worst game of his three-year career – he threw four interceptions in the first half. He completed 20 of 47 for 212 yards and a QB rating of 28.

One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown, which turned out to be a critical mistake. running back woody marks Stumbled on a key drive in the third quarter when Houston trailed 21–16 as the defense forced Mayes into a fumble.

The defense, which had allowed 17.4 points per game in the regular season, gave up three touchdowns, the most allowed by a starting unit in nearly a month. The Texans forced three turnovers, but failed to meet the standard they had set by shutting down opposing offenses.

Coach Demeco Ryans’ Year 3 ended the same way Years 1 and 2 did: on the road in cold conditions in the divisional round.

turn: With 12 minutes remaining, Boutte’s one-handed touchdown reception with the All-Pro cornerback derek stingley jr. There was a back-breaker in coverage, putting the Patriots ahead 28–16.

Statistics to know: Stroud’s four interceptions in the first half are tied for the most in a playoff half since at least 2000. One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown, marking the first time Stroud has thrown a pick-six since being drafted No. 2 in 2023.

Viewing Trends: Stroud has seven turnovers in the last two playoff games, his most in a two-game period. Considering he had only two of his five lost fumbles in Houston’s wild-card win and dropped multiple interceptions on Sunday, only seven seems lucky. – DJ Bien-Aime