Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes, Marcus Jones returned an interception for a score and the New England Patriots qualified for the AFC Championship Game with a 28-16 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday in cold and snowy conditions at Foxborough, Mass.
New England intercepted Houston’s C.J. Stroud four times in the divisional-round matchup, as Carlton Davis III picked off two passes and Craig Woodson had one. The Patriots forced five turnovers while advancing to their 16th AFC title game and their first since the 2018 season playoffs.
New England will play at the top-seeded Denver Broncos next Sunday.
Kayshon Boutte made a stellar touchdown grab and Demario Douglas and Stefon Diggs also had scoring receptions for second-seeded New England. Maye completed 16 of 27 passes for 179 yards while also throwing one interception and losing two fumbles.
Stroud committed seven turnovers (five picks, two fumbles) in fifth-seeded Houston’s two postseason games. He completed 20 of 47 for 212 yards and one touchdown Sunday.
Christian Kirk had a scoring catch for the Texans, who are 0-7 all-time in the divisional round of the playoffs. Will Anderson Jr. recorded three sacks and forced two fumbles and Danielle Hunter had two sacks and one forced fumble.
The Texans played without three-time 1,000-yard receiver Nico Collins (concussion). They also lost standout tight end Dalton Schultz (calf) in the first quarter and second-string tight end Cade Stover (knee) in the fourth quarter.
The Patriots figure to be slight road favorites in the AFC title game after the Broncos lost standout quarterback Bo Nix to a broken ankle.
Houston trailed by 11 at halftime but moved within 21-16 late in the third quarter on Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals of 25 and 51 yards just as the snow picked up.
But New England regained momentum when Boutte made a one-handed 32-yard touchdown grab from Maye to give the Patriots a 12-point lead with 12:58 to play. Boutte beat Texans standout cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. on the play.
Davis exited in the fourth quarter for New England due to a head injury.
New England led 21-10 at halftime as the Texans were hindered by Stroud’s four interceptions.
The Patriots struck first on Maye’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Douglas with 9:35 left in the first quarter.
Houston scored the next 10 points on Fairbairn’s 25-yard field goal in the opening quarter and Stroud’s 10-yard touchdown throw to Kirk with 12:51 remaining in the half.
Two-plus minutes later, Stroud was under pressure and threw the ball up for grabs. Jones intercepted it and returned it 26 yards for a score to give New England 14-10 lead.
Later in the quarter, Maye tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Diggs with 3:12 remaining in the half.
