Patriots, Falcons advance to conference finals
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots are headed back to a familiar spot: the AFC Championship Game.
Dion Lewis had a 13yard touchdown reception, a 98-yard kickoff return for a score, and a late 1-yard touchdown to help the Patriots hold off the Houston Texans 34-16 on Saturday night and advance to an NFL-record sixth straight conference title game.
New England will host the winner of Sunday night’s Pittsburgh-Kansas City matchup next Sunday for the right to play in the Super Bowl in Houston on Feb. 5.
“Whoever we play next week is going to be a great football team,” Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. “We’re going to have to play better than we played tonight on offense.”
Lewis became the fifth Patriots player to score three touchdowns in a playoff game. He’s also the first player in the Super Bowl era to score on a rush, a catch and a kick return in a postseason game.
“I just approached it that I would be in there on every play. That’s just the way I prepare,” Lewis said. “So when it does happen, I won’t be surprised. I’ll always be ready.”
Bill Belichick’s Patriots survived a gritty effort by the Texans’ top-ranked defense, which intercepted two of Brady’s passes. Houston’s special teams also forced a third turnover.
But the Texans couldn’t find enough traction on offense to take full advantage of the Patriots’ mistakes, settling for field goals after both of Brady’s picks.
New England led just 17-13 at the half, but pushed its lead to 24-13 early in the third quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brady to James White.
Houston’s Brock Osweiler threw three interceptions after that, and the Texans managed only a field goal the rest of game.
It was the first breakout game of the season for Lewis, who spent the first eight games of the season on injured reserve recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee.
Brady finished 18-of-38 for 287 yards and two touchdowns and was showered with chants of “MVP!” and “Brady!” late in the game. Julian Edelman was Brady’s most dependable target, catching eight passes for 137 yards.
Osweiler was 23-of-40 for 198 yards.
“You need to capitalize on great opportunities against a football team like this,” Osweiler said. “That’s my fault, I’ll clean that up.”
When New England did have the ball in the first half, it gave Houston a steady diet of Lewis early with LeGarrette Blount coming off an illness that limited him during practice.
A.J. Bouye intercepted a slightly overthrown ball by Brady late in the first quarter on a pass that bounced out of the hands of receiver Michael Floyd. That led to a 27-yard field goal that cut New England’s lead to 14-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lewis coughed up the ball on a hit from Akeem Dent. Eddie Pleasant fell on it at the Patriots’ 12, and two plays later, Osweiler hit C.J. Fiedorowicz from 8 yards out to cut the deficit to 14-13.
Brady threw only two interceptions during the regular season. With his 28 touchdown passes, that was the lowest touchdown-to-interception ratio in NFL history.
Belichick and Brady advanced to their 11th conference championship game together. No other head coach and starting quarterback duo since the 1970 merger has gone to more than six.
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski made an extra point in the first quarter to move into fourth place on the league’s career playoff scoring list. His 133rd point broke a tie with 49ers receiver Jerry Rice.