Los New England Patriots They overcame the fearsome defense of the H under the snow of Boston.ouston Texans (28-16) and sealed their pass to the final of the American Conference of the NFL, in which the Denver Broncos.
The Texans reached the divisional round, which they have never surpassed, with ten consecutive victories underpinned by a strong defense, but in Boston they committed five turnovers – four of them interceptions of CJ Stroud – from which they were unable to recover.
This was the seventh time the Texans fell in the divisional round, the quarterfinals in the NFL.
For their part, the Patriots will play in a conference final for the first time since the 2018 season, Tom Brady's last in New England.
Drake Maye, the quarterback who has brought hope back to the Patriots, finished the game with 16 of 27 passes completed, three of them touchdowns, for 179 yards. Maye is, along with Matthew Stafford, a candidate for 'MVP' of the season.
Although he suffered an interception, his role was much better than that of Stroud, who finished with 20 of 47 attempts for 212 yards, but only one touchdown, in addition to the four losses.
DeMario Douglas leads the way
The Patriots opened the scoring on their second offensive series of the afternoon in Boston. Maye, on fourth down, completed a pass to DeMario Douglas, who ran 21 yards to the touchdown without anyone from the Texans getting close.
The Texans responded in the first quarter with a field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn, making it 7-3.
Houston turned the score around in the second quarter with a touchdown by Christian Kirk, who received a 10-yard pass from Stroud in the end zone.
But the Texans' joy would last very short. The Patriots hit them with two touchdowns before halftime.
The first was the work of cornerback Marcus Jones, who intercepted a short pass from Stroud at the Houston 26-yard line and returned it for a score.
The second came with Stefon Diggs, who received a seven-yard pass from Maye in the end zone. 21-10 at halftime.
The Texans tried to close the gap when they returned from the locker room, but they ran into a defensive wall again and again. Houston's offensive series resulted in two field goals by Fairbairn to make it 21-16, one possession away.
That difference gave confidence to the Texans, who in the fourth quarter had been intractable this season.
But early in that period, the Patriots extended their lead with an impressive touchdown by Kayshon Boutte, who made a one-handed catch on a 32-yard pass from Maye.
There were still 13 minutes left in the game, plenty of time to turn the score around, but neither Stroud nor any other Texans player managed to connect decisive plays and the result was not changed again.
Thus, the Patriots qualified for the American Conference finals, which they will play next Sunday in Denver against the Broncos. The Broncos, who beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30 last night, lost their quarterback, Bo Nix, to injury.
The winner of that Broncos-Patriots will qualify for 'Super Bowl' LX.
