Key events
Texans 0-7 Patriots 7:04, 1st quarter
Another chance for an interception goes begging, the ball hangs in the air for an age with three Patriots around it but none react. Stroud picks up the 1st down on the next play with an easy completion and New England gift a few more yards with a facemask penalty on Christian Kirk. 1st and Goal on the way.
Texans 0-7 Patriots 8:07, 1st quarter
Wow, Texans safety Calen Bullock got his fingertips to the touchdown pass, it was not enough though as he was just falling short.
New England come out playing just as fierce on defense as Woody Marks’ helmet is popped off by a crunching hit as Houston take over as the snow continues to fall. They up the ante by almost picking off CJ Stroud on the next play. Stroud finally completes a pass at his 4th attempt on 3rd down and picks up 42 yards with a short pass to Dalton Schultz. About 30 yards to go for the score after a penalty for a falst start on the tight end.
TOUCHDOWN! Texans 0-7 Patriots 9:55, 1st quarter
New England are being battered as they cross midfield. Houston force losses on both downs pushing them back to 3rd and 14. On the next play Stefon Diggs picks up 13 and Mike Vrabel is gambling on 4th and 1. How is your luck? TOUCHDOWN! DeMario Douglas takes the pass in the centre of the field and races into the open air and in for the score. That throw was absolutely razor sharp from Drake Maye but the defender slipped as we was trying to knock down the pass. Fine margins.
Texans 0-0 Patriots 12:53, 1st quarter
Oh wow, it all happening. The ball is bar of soap out there with snow falling as Christian Kirk lets a pass through his hands and it is almost picked off on 3rd down. The punt is returned to New England’s 34. The weather looks to be making life tough on offense.
Texans 0-0 Patriots 13:37, 1st quarter
And that fierce Houston defense force a quick three and out. The punt is returned to the 25-yard line. CJ Stroud, your move!
The big tick for Houston against Drake Maye is how effective their pass rush is. Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter are so good the Texans only need to send four at the quarterback meaning they can have seven defenders sitting behind. Seven defenders of supreme quality featuring a ballhawk corner back in Derek Stingley and a brutal safety in Jalen Pitre.
“If they are going to make it, it is because of them,” says Jason Bell in the Sky Sports studio. Hmmm, think CJ Stroud might be a little gutted by that analysis. But they are that good. Houston allowed the fewest offensive yards to opponents in the NFL with only 277 per game while limiting the Chargers to only 175 last week.
Oh and we are underway. Maye and the New England offense trot on to the field. Let’s Gooooooo!
So I have just been listening to Patriots owner Robert Kraft say his team are BACK. A little strong but he’s hardly going to say he’s not sure when asked if they are. New England have certainly been very good after cooking up a brilliant 14-3 season while just missing out on the AFC’s top seed. They certainly seem like they are on more solid ground now with Drake Maye at the controls with club man Mike Vrabel coaching compared to the very false dawn they had with Mac Jones.
Jones, now backing up Brock Purdy in San Francisco, helped earn New England’s most recent playoff visit after Tom Brady left the building. It didn’t last long as the Buffalo Bills demolished them 47-17 in the wildcard round.
So last week Maye delivered New England’s first playoff win since the 13-3 Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams in the 2018 season. Another win here will make it feel a lot closer to the Foxborough juggernaut being truly back.
After polishing off my leftover ribs from the BBQ establishment I watched Buffalo v Denver in, I can’t help but recall the ending to the Broncos’ victory in Mile High.
That pivotal moment in overtime when Josh Allen found Brandin Cooks near the end zone but somehow Ja’Quan McMIllian smuggled it away for an interception that took a game-winning field goal from Buffalo and gave Bo Nix a platform for Denver to win. It was quite breathtakingly bonkers.
If you are still scratching your head a little at the frentetic, thrilling end to thee 33-30 win, then allow NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson to explain. His take starts at about the 1min 55sec mark.
I am going to preface this post by stating that neither the Texans or Patriots will take facing the Broncos’ terrifying defense lightly but Nix’s broken ankle puts them at a huge advantage for making the Super Bowl if they win today. The intensity was surely already going to be sky high, now it feels like it will only be higher still with such a large incentive hanging within reach if they can just snatch the victory.
But first, before the spoils of victory can be doled out, the storylines heating up the action in Foxborough. We have the NFL’s likely MVP and New England quarterback Drake Maye v the toughest challenge he has faced this season in Houston’s bone-crunching defense.
Maye’s opposite number CJ Stroud v history for the Texans who have never been past this round in the playoffs with the quarterback stumbling at this stage twice before.
And finally, will Houston or New England have the greater advantage with Texans No 1 Nico Collins and Patriots No 1 cornerback Christian Gonzalez missing out …
Preamble
Hi and hello football fans, welcome to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs aka the best weekend in footballTM. A distinction that is the best kind of cliche, totally apt and one you never get tired of hearing. How could it not be? The best eight franchises are duking it out for a chance to fight for a Conference crown, what is not to love? Well, if you are involved with the Denver Broncos then losing your starting quarterback Bo Nix for the AFC Championship game with a broken ankle is definitely sub-optimal. Things went a little better for the Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, who will be absolutely delighted with how comprehensively they dominated the San Francisco 49ers (again) over in the NFC.
Tonight’s action takes us to frigid Foxborough for a titanic matchup between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. Kick-off is at 2pm CST/3pm EST/8pm GMT.
Neither the No 2 seed Patriots or the No 5 seed Texans had much of a challenge last week. You could argue Pittsburgh had a chance against Houston but I would argue that even at 7-6 the scoreline was comfortable considering the immense level DeMeco Ryans’ defense was playing at. The less said about the Chargers meek output against the Patriots the better. The upshot for us is that each team should be fresh for their first real test. Sparks will hopefully fly!
Oh and how about what legendary receiver Randy Moss and his pals think about the game? Because, why not?
