texas toast
SHAKY PATS FINISH STRONG, WRANGLE HOUSTON, 34-16
FOXBORO — The Patriots won the battle of top-ranked defenses last night at Gillette Stadium, and that’s why Tom Brady will play in his 11th AFC Championship Game next week.
The Pats survived an improbable scare from the Texans as they pulled away with a 34-16 victory in the divisional round, and they’ll host either the Chiefs or Steelers on Sunday night at Gillette for the right to play in Super Bowl LI in Houston. But while Brady will get credit for his record-setting sixth consecutive appearance in the conference title tilt and a 23rd playoff victory that falls shy of just five other franchises, he can truly thank the defense for bailing them out of the danger created by three giveaways.
“They played great,” Brady said. “If they play like that, it’s tough to put points on the board. They’re getting after the quarterback and picking balls off and good coverage. It was a great game.”
The Patriots, who boasted the top-rated scoring defense of the last three seasons, intercepted Brock Osweiler three times, recorded three sacks, hit him six times and forced seven three-and-outs.
It was a vital effort because Brady’s offense struggled against the Texans, who allowed the fewest yards in the league this season. Brady was 18-of-38 for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. It was the ninth time he had at least two picks in the playoffs, but the fifth time he won while doing so.
“There were a lot of things (the Texans did), and when you add our poor execution on top of that and you add our turnovers on top of that, it doesn’t feel great because we worked pretty hard to play a lot better than we played,” Brady said. “I give (the Texans) a lot of credit, but we’re going to have to play a lot better on offense.”
Dion Lewis helped in a big way with three touchdowns. He ran 13 times for 41 yards and a score, caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown and took a kickoff back to the house. But Lewis also fumbled away a kickoff return during a key stretch that allowed the Texans to score 10 consecutive points in the second quarter.
The Patriots were on cruise control in the first quarter when they quickly constructed a two-possession lead.
The Pats’ second series opened with a 30-yard defensive pass interference penalty against A.J. Bouye, and Chris Hogan caught a 22-yarder a play later. Brady then hit Lewis in the left flat, and the shifty back scooted for a 13-yard TD.
The Texans got a Nick Novak field goal to trim their deficit to 7-3. But Lewis answered, as he raced away with a 98-yard TD on the ensuing kickoff. It was the Pats’ first postseason kickoff return for a score and gave them a 14-3 lead at the end of a quarter.
That’s when things got wacky. The defense yielded another three-and-out, but Brady’s first pass of the following possession squirted through Michael Floyd’s hands and was intercepted by Bouye at the Patriots’ 27. But the defense held serve, and Novak’s 27-yard field goal cut the deficit to 14-6.
Lewis then coughed up the kickoff, and the Texans recovered at the Pats’ 12. Two plays later, Osweiler hit C.J. Fiedorowicz for a 10-yard TD to make it 14-13. Thanks to two turnovers, the Texans scored 10 straight points in 47 seconds.
“I feel like I let my team down a little bit today, so that’s where my focus is on,” Lewis said. “I’m going to enjoy the win tonight, though.”
From there, the Patriots locked the vault. The defense forced two more three-and-outs to close the half, and Stephen Gostkowski closed down the second quarter with a 19yard field goal to push the margin to 17-13 after the Pats were stuffed on backto-back plays from the 1.
Brady hit Julian Edelman four times for 54 yards on their first second-half scoring jaunt. Brady capped the series with a perfect throw to James White for a 19yard score and 24-13 lead.
The Pats had another chance to bury the Texans when Devin McCourty halted the ensuing series with an interception at the Pats’ 44. But Brady went 1-of-6 for 26 yards on the next possession to thwart those thoughts.
Then at the end of the third quarter, Brady’s pass over the middle was tipped by McKinney and intercepted by Andre Hal. The Texans couldn’t do anything with it, though, and settled for Novak’s 46-yard field goal to cut the margin to 24-16 early in the fourth.
The offense sputtered again, with Brady’s thirdand-7 bid sailing behind Edelman (eight catches, 137 yards), but Ryan recorded an interception to slam the door on the Texans’ chances for an historic upset. Lewis’ 1-yard touchdown shortly thereafter pushed it to 31-16.
But even as the Patriots raced away to a comfortable winning margin, they were focused on a far greater goal.
“If we don’t improve on those situations the next time we play,” coach Bill Belichick said, “it might be the last time we play.”