Patriots extend lead to 21-10 on Maye to Diggs TD pass

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Will the Houston Texans advance to their first-ever AFC Championship game? They have to get past a Patriots team in snowy Foxborough today to get there.  The winner of the Texans-Patriots showdown moves on to face Denver in the conference title game. And it’s a Denver team that received devastating injury news on Saturday.

Houston (13-5) comes into the game on a 10-game winning streak and boasts the top-ranked defense in the league.  New England (15-3) won 13 of its last 14 games and has a quarterback in Drake Maye who is one of the frontrunners for league MVP.

Throughout the game, we’ll post updates on this page, so follow along. And after the game, we’ll have live streaming coverage on KHOU 11+!

After trading three-and-outs, the Patriots drove the length of the field for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Texans got the ball back and did the same, but a drive stalled and Houston settled for a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.  The big play was this Stroud to Dalton Schultz pass.

After a Stroud interception, Houston got the ball right back on this Drake Maye fumble recovered by the Texans’ Tommy Togiai.

Houston took the lead on this Stroud to Kirk touchdown.

After Houston stopped New England on a three-and-out, Stroud threw a pick six and New England took a 14-10 lead.

After the Texans went three-and-out, New England drove down for another scoring strike, this time, Drake Maye hit former Texans receiver Stefon Diggs.  21-10 Patriots.

• Houston (13-5) at New England (15-3)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m. Houston time.
• BetMGM NFL odds: Patriots by 3
• Against the spread: Texans 10-8; Patriots 12-5-1
• Series record: Patriots lead 11-4
• Last meeting: Texans won 41-21 in Foxborough, Mass. on Oct. 10, 2024.
• Last week: Texans beat Pittsburgh 30-6; Patriots beat Los Angeles Chargers 16-3.
• Texans offense: overall (18), rush (22), pass (14), scoring (13).
• Texans defense: overall (1), rush (4), pass (6), scoring (2).
• Patriots offense: overall (3), rush (6), pass (4), scoring (2).
• Patriots defense: overall (8), rush (5), pass (9), scoring (4).
• Turnover differential: Texans plus-17; Patriots plus-3

WR Christian Kirk had a career-high and franchise-playoff record 144 yards receiving with a touchdown in Houston’s win over the Steelers. It was his first 100-yard game since 2023 and the 10th in his career. His stellar performance came after a tough regular season where the eight-year veteran had a career-low 239 yards receiving in his first year in Houston after a trade from Jacksonville. Houston will need him to have another big game with Pro Bowl receiver Nico Collins out after sustaining a concussion Monday night. Kirk has had a touchdown reception in three straight playoff games.

QB Drake Maye. In his first career playoff game, the MVP candidate threw for a touchdown and led the team with 66 rushing yards in last week’s win over the Chargers. He finished the regular season with a 72 percent completion rate, the highest in team history and the sixth best in NFL history. It’s better than Tom Brady, who had a 68.9 percent completion rate in 2007. The MVP that season was Brady.

Patriots offensive line vs. Texans pass rush. The Texans have two of the league’s top pass rushers in All-Pro DE Will Anderson Jr. and DE Danielle Hunter. Maye was thrown off rhythm by a Chargers defense sacked him five times last week. It will be a big test for Patriots rookie LT Will Campbell, who gave up a strip-sack against Los Angeles.

Texans: Collins is out Sunday after sustaining his second concussion of the season against the Steelers. He sat out Oct. 26 against the 49ers recovering from his first concussion this season. … Special teams player Justin Watson is also out against the Patriots after sustaining a concussion Monday night. … T Trent Brown is also out.

Patriots: CB Christian Gonzalez began the week in the concussion protocol after leaving last week’s game with a head injury, but will be ready to go. … RB Terrell Jennings, who has been on injured reserve, is in the protocol after starting his 21-day return window. … RT Morgan Moses missed Wednesday’s practice with a knee issue. … WR Alex Austin, who has been on IR with a wrist injury, returned to practice without restriction.

The Patriots are 2-0 against Houston in the playoffs. Both victories were in the divisional round. The most recent was a 34-16 home victory over the Texans on Jan. 14, 2017.

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