Patriots Beat Texans to Advance to 6th Straight AFC Championship

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Sunday, January 15, 2017

Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team

The New England Patriots are headed to their sixth straight AFC Championship game.

The Patriots got three touchdowns from Dion Lewis en route to a 34-16 win over the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night and are now one game away from reaching their seventh Super Bowl in the Brady/Belichick era.

"We had to battle through some ups and downs, but that is what the playoffs are about, finding a way to win," said Patriots safety Devin McCourty after the game.

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Defense, Better Offense Leads to Win

Leading 17-13 in the third quarter, Tom Brady found James White in the corner of the end zone for a19 yard touchdown pass to give New England a 24-13 lead after a Stephen Gostkowski extra point.

Following a Houston field goal to cut New England’s lead to eight, 24-16 in the fourth quarter, New England’s Logan Ryan picked off Brock Osweiler on the Texans following possession, setting the Patriots up at the Texans 29-yard line.

A couple of plays later, Dion Lewis would find his way into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game, giving the Patriots a 31-16 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.

“He made some big plays for us, the kickoff return was incredible, the touchdown catch, he had a good touchdown run, he did a great job," said Brady.

The Patriots would add a field goal in the quarter to take a 34-16 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.

The Patriots defense forced three interceptions in the second half and only gave up three points.

Dion Lewis joins KC's Tyreek Hill as only players to score rush, receiving and KR touchdowns in game this season. Hadn't been done since '65
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 15, 2017

Turnovers Let Texans Back in Game

After Dion Lewis returned a Texans kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown the Patriots mistakes would let Houston back into the game.

With 14:32 left in the half, Brady fired a pass to Michael Floyd, but it deflected off of his hands and into the hands of Houston’s A.J. Bouye.

Six plays later, Houston would add a field goal to make the Patriots lead 14-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lewis fumbled at the Patriots 17-yard line where Houston’s Dent recovered.

Two plays later, Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler found C.J. Fiedorowicz wide open in the end zone for a touchdown. The Texans would trail 14-13 following a Nick Novak extra point.

The Patriots had the final possession of the half and had 2nd and 3rd and goal from the Houston 1-yard line, and first and goal fro the Houston 3 yard line but failed to get in.

A Stephen Gostkowski field goal would give New England a 17-13 lead heading into the locker room.

Patriots 17, Texans 13 (halftime): Two turnovers by Patriots turned into 10 points by Houston. Keeps game close. Poor overall half from NE.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 15, 2017

“I think we just got to learn from it, I think this team did a good job playing against us, they have some good scheme stuff that worked, they have some good rushers, they had good guys in coverage and a good scheme so it was a lot of things. then you add our poor execution on top of that and our turnovers on top of that, you know it doesn’t feel great because we worked pretty hard to play a lot better than we did,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after the game.

The Leaders

Brady completed 18 of 28 passes for287 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which were off of deflections.

Dion Lewis carried the ball 13 times for 41 yards and one rushing touchdown.

Julian Edelman hauled in eight catches for 137 yards on 13 targets to lead the receivers.

Next up

The Patriots advance to the AFC Championship game next week at Gillette Stadium.

They will face the winner of the divisional-round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. That game is scheduled for Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. in Kansas City.

Game time for the AFC Championship will be at 6 p.m.

16 Plays That Define the Patriots 2016 Season Regular Season - in Vines

Jimmy Garoppolo Starts the Season

With Tom Brady suspended for four games, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo started the season in Arizona. He immediately made his presence known with this 37 yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan.

The Patriots edged Arizona 23-21.

LeGarrette Blount Leaps Over a Dolphins Player

LeGarrette Blount took a toss from rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett and proceeded to make an Olympic hurdle type leap over Dolphins' defensive back Byron Maxwell and pick up the first down

Blount ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

Garoppolo Dominates Miami

In the Patriots home opener against the rival Miami Dolphins, Garoppolo was dominant, completing 18 of 27 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including this one to Danny Amendola.

Garoppolo would get injured just before halftime and the Patriots would hold on to win 31-24.

Tom Brady Returns

After serving his four game suspension, Brady returned in week five against the Cleveland Browns.

Brady showed some emotion after a run toward the Cleveland sideline for a first down.

Dont'a Hightower

Hightower's big hit on Browns quarterback Cody Kessler knocked him out of the game. The next week, Hightower would sack Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in the end zone for a safety and change the momentum of that game.

So far this season, Hightower has 1.5 sacks, one safety, 14 solo tackles and one pass defensed in six games played.

Brady to Bennett

In his first game back, Brady found tight end Martellus Bennett in the end zone three times to help the Patriots to a 33-13 win over the Browns.

Bennett had six catches for 67 yards and three touchdowns in the game.

Tom Brady Plays First Game Back at Gillette

Brady made his return to the Patriots in the previous game on the road against Cleveland, but his first game back at Gillette Stadium came against the Bengals.

Brady hit running back James White for his first touchdown pass of the day and New England won 35-17.

He finished the game completing 29 of 35 passes for 376 yards and three touchdowns.

Gronkowski Catches 69th Career Touchdown Pass

Rob Gronkowski's record-breaking touchdown came near the end of the first half against Buffalo on a 53-yard strike over the middle from Brady giving the Patriots a 21-10 lead.

Gronkowski Injured on Hit by Seattle's Earl Thomas

Near the end of the 2nd quarter of the Patriots game against Seattle, Earl Thomas hit Rob Gronkowski square in the chest. Just two weeks later, it would be announced that Gronkowski would be out for the season.

The Patriots lost to Seattle 31-24

Brady Nearly Fumbles Against Jets, Throws Touchdown to Mitchell

Trailing 10-3 and on the Jets five-yard line, Brady fumbled the snap picked it up and found Malcolm Mitchell in the back of the end zone for a touchdown to tie the game at ten following a Gostkowski extra point.

The Patriots would go on to win 22-17.

Tom Brady Kneels on Win #201

With the Patriots 26-10 win over the LA Rams on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, Brady picked up career win number 201 of his career, passing Peyton Manning for the most all-time.

Shea McClellin Blocks Ravens Field Goal

The Ravens threatened to take the lead, 3-2, midway through the first quarter on a field goal attempt by kicker Justin Tucker, but New England's Shea McClellin jumped over the center and got the block. The Patriots offense scored a touchdown on their ensuing possession to take a 9-0 lead.

The Patriots would go on to win the game 30-23.

Blount Breaks Curtis Martin's Record for Rushing TDs in a Season

Running back LeGarrette Blount recorded his 15th rushing touchdown of the season in the Patriots win over Denver. With the score, he passed Curtis Martin for most rushing touchdowns in a season.

The Patriots beat Denver 16-3 to clinch AFC East.

McCourty's Hit on DeMaryius Thomas

On a fourth and 2, Devin McCourty put an end to Denver's come come back hopes with this hit on DeMaryius Thomas that forced him to drop the ball.

Had Thomas made the catch, the Broncos would have likely scored on the drive, making the final minutes a little more nervewracking.

Matt Lengel Catches First Touchdown Pass

Lengel came over to the Patriots from the Bengals practice squad and had never caught a touchdown pass in his career.

Already up 13-0, Tom Brady hit Lengel over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown pass to give the Patriots a 20-0 lead. It was Lengel's first catch, first target, and first touchdown.

The Patriots would go on to beat the Jets 41-3.