The New England Patriots advance to their 6th straight AFC Championship game after beating the Houston Texans 34-16 in the divisional round.
Dion Lewis was everywhere last night. Lewis had a 13-yard touchdown reception, a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown, and a 1-yard touchdown run. Lewis became the fifth Patriots player to score three touchdowns in a playoff game. He is also the first and only player in the Super Bowl era to score on a catch, kick return and rush in a playoff game.
The Texans brought their top-ranked defense into Gillette last night and they caused some problems. The Texans defense intercepted Brady twice! That’s the same amount of interceptions that he had thrown during his entire 12-game season. Houston’s special teams also forced a turnover. New England is a team that doesn’t usually turn the ball over so credit their defense. I feel bad for the Texans defense and special teams. They played well against the Patriots just for Brock to get the ball and toss three interceptions. We all witnessed $72 million go down the drain last night. Osweiler threw three interceptions during a game where the Texans couldn’t get any running game going. Texans need to either work with Osweiler and make him better or they need to move onto the next guy in line. The defense and special teams can’t do everything for you, Brock!
The Patriots won. I’m not sure how I feel about their play last night, but I’m happy they won. Tom Brady completed 18 passes for 287 yards on 38 attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Unusual to see Brady throw interceptions, that and losing are two things he just doesn’t do. This game was all Dion Lewis. He was electric on the field, returning Nick Novak’s kick 98 yards for a touchdown.
The Patriots defense came to play last night and they balled out against the Texans. They allowed 104 rushing yards and 181 passing yards. They also picked off three passes from Osweiler. The Texans only touchdown came on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Osweiler to Fiedorowicz during the second quarter. The Patriots defense stepped up big time, especially during a game where Tom Brady and the offense got into turnover trouble.
The New England Patriots are heading to their 6th straight AFC championship, a new NFL record. I’m a little upset that we now have to wait to see who the Pats will play. They pushed the Chiefs vs. Steelers game to 8:20 p.m. ET. The game was supposed to be at 1:05 p.m. but had to be rescheduled due to an ice storm in the Kansas City area.
The Patriots are one step closer to Houston. Win one more home game and start booking your airfare to Houston. Do your job. Just one win away from a date with Roger Goodell in NRG stadium.
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