Patriots hold off Texans in turnover-filled divisional game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It wasn’t a work of football art, that’s for sure.

In a turnover-filled game that matched the sloppy, snowy-weather forecast, the New England Patriots leaned on their defense and some timely big plays on offense to record a 28-16 victory over the Houston Texans in an AFC divisional round playoff game Sunday.

The Patriots defense forced five turnovers, intercepting quarterback C.J. Stroud four times, and quarterback Drake Maye overcame three turnovers (two fumbles and one interception) to help the No. 2 seed advance, throwing for three touchdowns in the win.

The Patriots will now hit the road to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, CBS) with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, where they will face backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham as he steps in for the injured Bo Nix. New England will look to bring that attacking style of play to Denver, which has traditionally been a house 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 to make of the QB performance: Maye’s ball security was shaky, in part because of issues with his pass protection. He had four fumbles, which upped his season total to 14 — easily a league high in front of Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers), Sam Darnold (Seahawks) and Cam Ward (Titans), who all have 11. Of those 14, Maye has lost six of them, which is tied with Darnold for the second most (only Ward, with 7, has more). Maye became just the second player in the past 15 years with three fumbles in a half of a playoff game, joining Stroud — who did it last week. But when Maye needed to make a big-time throw, he delivered with pinpoint accuracy on a 32-yard touchdown strike to receiver Kayshon Boutte. He finished 16 of 27 for 179 yards and the three touchdowns and a pick.

Turning point: The Patriots trailed 10-7 early in the second quarter when Stroud threw an ill-advised pop-up pass while being pressured by defensive end/outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson, with cornerback Marcus Jones corralling it and then racing 26 yards for a touchdown. The Patriots went up 14-10 and never trailed again.

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

Stat to know: Receiver Stefon Diggs’ 7-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter was his 49th career receiving touchdown on a ball thrown to the end zone, which is the fourth most since he entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015. Only Mike Evans (74), Davante Adams (73) and DeAndre Hopkins (54) have more.

Most surprising performance: Cornerback Carlton Davis III’s big day. He had two first-half interceptions, in which he expertly stayed in bounds along the sideline on both of them. Davis entered Sunday’s game having played 90.9% of the defensive snaps and looking for his first interception of the season. Davis, a second-round pick in 2018 by the Buccaneers, had 11 career interceptions over eight seasons. — Mike Reiss

Houston Texans

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

Houston had been 0-6 in its franchise history in the divisional round coming into their matchup against the Patriots, but this felt like the season Houston could reach the evasive conference championship.

The Texans were on a 10-game winning streak and had just thumped the Pittsburgh Steelers in last week’s wild-card round. Houston’s defensive unit, one of the league’s best, had to play in snowy, frigid field conditions which could have favored a more physical style of defense.

But against the Patriots, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Quarterback C.J. Stroud — playing without his top two targets with receiver Nico Collins being ruled out Friday after suffering a concussion last week in the wild-card game and tight end Dalton Schultz exiting in the second quarter with a calf injury — had arguably his worst game of his three-year career — throwing four interceptions in the first half. He finished 20 of 47 for 212 yards and a QB rating of 28.

One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown, proving to be a critical mistake. Running back Woody Marks fumbled on a key third-quarter drive when Houston trailed 21-16 after the defense had just forced Drake into a fumble.

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

Year 3 of coach DeMeco Ryans ended the same way Year 1 and 2 did: On the road in cold conditions in the divisional round.

Turning point: With 12 minutes left, Boutte’s one-handed touchdown reception with All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. in coverage was a back-breaker, putting the Patriots up 28-16.

Stat to know: Stroud’s four interceptions in the first half was tied for the most in a playoff half since at least 2000. One of the interceptions was returned for a touchdown, which marked the first time Stroud has ever thrown a pick-six in his career since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2023.

Trend to watch: Stroud has seven turnovers in the last two playoffs games, his most in a two-game span. Considering only two fumbles were lost out of his five in Houston’s wild-card win and several dropped interceptions Sunday, only seven sounds fortunate. — D.J. Bien-Aime