Patriots vs Texans: 5 Reactions As Patriots Endure Elements, Advance to AFC Championship
Patriots Grind Out Playoff Victory Over Texans, Advance to AFC Championship
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Some quick reactions to Sunday’s 28-16 win over the Texans:
1) Sunday’s performance against the Texans was certainly a grind for the Patriots’ offense.
One key reason was simply that Houston’s defense ended up being as advertised. They brought pressure for most of the day, dropping Drake Maye five times, hitting him twice, and it led to Maye finishing the day with four fumbles, two of which the Texans recovered.
Texans defensive end Will Anderson made life miserable for rookie left tackle Will Campbell. He overpowered him on multiple occasions, and it didn’t feel like the Patriots coaching staff did much to help him out until later in the game as the score started becoming a little closer.
But credit Maye and that entire unit for staying the course. They kept battling, and as we’ve seen on so many occasions, the second-year QB came through with a big play when they needed it most. He put the game away early in the fourth quarter after throwing a perfect strike to Kayshon Boutte up the right sideline, with Boutte hauling in an unbelievable one-handed diving grab in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown.
That put the Patriots back firmly in control of the game at 28-16 with 12:51 left to go in the game.
Considering how well their own defense was playing, that one play ended up being enough to seal the deal.
“He keeps on making them,” said Maye on Boutte’s clutch reception. “He keeps on making plays, making me look good. I’m proud to be able to give him some throws to make a play on it.”
“I think, one-handed catch, there’s not much else to say about it. It’s pretty sweet. We kind of looked… It was kind of the same type of throw as my first one to him, and he made an even better catch this time. So just props to Kayshon for keeping on playing.”
2) On defense, the effort we saw on Sunday was unreal. Just like last week against the Chargers, this group flew around and put the heat on C.J. Stroud, picking him off four times in the first half, and kept New England in the game while their own offense stalled.
They finished the game with three sacks, nine quarterback hits, along with a forced fumble and recovery. On one of the interceptions, that happened thanks to a QB hit by K’Lavon Chaisson, allowed Marcus Jones to make an interception after the ball fluttered in the air.
As he tends to do, Jones took the ball back the other way and ended up in the end zone for the touchdown, electrifying his teammates as well as the close to 70,000 fans who braved the elements to watch their team move on to the AFC Championship game.
Those are the types of plays we’ve already seen through two weeks, with this group playing its best football at the right time. They were absolutely relentless again Sunday, and have now held the two opponents they’ve faced to this point to just nineteen total points in eight quarters.
You could see on more than one occasion that they controlled the line of scrimmage, as multiple times you could see the entire Texans offensive line get pushed back into Stroud and collapse the pocket. That played a key role in the majority of his errant throws, with Stroud finishing the game just 20-of-47 (42.6%) for 212 yards with 1 TD and 4 INTs.
However, what’s impressed head coach Mike Vrabel the most is how his group has done it. He said guys are playing for each other, and a lot of these turnovers are coming as a result of a play one of their teammates made, and it’s something he’s been happy to see play out.
“Again, it was a group effort,” said Vrabel after the game. “We talked about it being a group effort, and whether that’s understanding the call, understanding where each guy fits. But I felt like, especially on Marcus [Jones]’s, we talked about some of these boots, and KC was able to force the quarterback into a mistake, and we tipped some passes.”
“Again, there are some other plays that are close with the quarterback’s arm. I think we kept changing the look up on them a little bit. Give our guys credit to be able to disguise. We talked about that, and certainly affecting the quarterback is a big part of winning in this league.”
3) You definitely can’t say enough about Rhamondre Stevenson.
Stevenson overcame a rough start to the season and has come on in recent weeks, starting off Sunday’s game with an impressive effort.
He got things going on the second possession of the game, snagging a 9 yard pass from Maye before slashing through the line and taking off for 20 yards on a run that got them into Houston territory.
Those two plays helped spark the offense before four plays later, Maye threw a strike ove the middle to Demario Douglas, who accelerated through the defense into the end zone from 28-yards out. That gave the Patriots an early 7-0 lead, and helped fire up the crowd, who ended up being a big part in helping out New England’s defense.
Stevenson did leave the game briefly after getting poked in the eye, but he eventually returned and helped the Patriots burn clock late in the game before the offense ended up back on the field in victory formation.
Overall, he finished the game with 16 carries for 70 yards, good for an average of 4.4 yards.
“Yeah, it takes all 11 on the offensive side of the ball,” said Stevenson after the game. “And it feels good to end the game with the ball in my hands and just running behind my O’Linemen. That’s tough football in my eyes, just controlling the clock and running it when they know you’re going to run it. So great thing to get that done today. And a lot to clean up for sure, but great to get that done.”
4) The elements certainly made things difficult, with rain coming down hard during the early part of the contest.
Both quarterbacks were erratic, with both Maye and Stroud struggling to get much going through most of the first quarter.
But on their second offensive possession, Stevenson helped get things started after catching a pass from Maye, and then breaking off his 20-yard as he slipped through Houston’s defense.
Two plays later, Maye was able to complete a couple of passes, with the first being a nice throw to Stefon Diggs on a 3rd-and-14 that went for 13, which set up a 4th-and-1.
On that short yardage play, rather than try and run and pick up a yard, Maye instead fired a quick strike to Douglas, who took off into the end zone.
It was a great throw and a nice run by Douglas, who finished things off by scoring on just his second reception of this postseason.
Overall, Maye finished the afternoon 16-of-27 (59.3%) for 179 yards along with three touchdowns and one interception.
Maye said after the game that the elements were just something both quarterbacks had to deal with, and he explained that as it began to let up, things did get easier.
“Yeah, I think when the snowflakes stop, I think it’s a little easier to throw the football,” said Maye. “You got a little better grip. But really, I think C.J. [Stroud] would probably say the same. We both had some throws that, it was tough. It was tough to get a grip on it. I think it’s tough in warmups because you kind of get a feel where the ball didn’t touch the ground and the guys are just passing it around with each other.”
“But I think the biggest thing is get back there with snow and just having a good grip on it and letting it rip. But I think, like I said, the weather is no excuse, but there’s definitely times where the ball rolls around on the ground with the center before the snap and it gets a little wet. So it’s definitely tough, but I feel we made enough throws.”
5) For another game, as they worked through their issues, it was impressive to not see things spiral as the offense struggled against a pretty relentless defense.
As we’ve seen for the majority of the season, even at times where they’ve gotten behind or seemed to be stuck in neutral, it’s never felt like they either weren’t going to come back or that they were ever out of it.
Instead, there’s remained a quiet confidence in a team that hasn’t quit. That was quietly a key component behind their impressive 10-game winning streak, as well as the run that they’re on right now, which has seen them win their last 15 out of 16 games.
Stevenson explained that it’s a mentality that’s been instilled in their entire offense. Just having a short memory, and moving on to the next play, which is something he said Maye has done such a good job.
“Just ‘Next play,’ really. It wasn’t really a big deal to us,” he explained as they battled turnovers during a good portion of the game. “Like I say, when I come here all the time, it’s just, if it’s a bad play, ‘next play.’ If it’s a good play, ‘next play.’ So it wasn’t really anything to talk about.”
“We know the type of guy he is. He knows he made a mistake or whatnot. So it wasn’t really anything like that. It was just ‘next play.’ He’s our quarterback, and we know he makes great plays. So just on to the next play.”
For now, they’ll just enjoy this win before they get set for the next one, which now includes a trip to Denver for a chance to play in Santa Clara three weeks from now.
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