New England Patriots Clinch AFC Championship Berth After Dominating Texans

The New England Patriots continued their remarkable turnaround this season by beating the Houston Texans 28-16 to reach the AFC Championship game. After winning just four games in his rookie season, quarterback Drake Maye led the Patriots to a 14-3 record and an unexpected play-off appearance. Maye is a leading contender to be named the NFL's Most Valuable Player and overcame both snow and the vaunted Texans defence to win Sunday's Divisional Round game in Massachusetts. That secured the Patriots' first AFC Championship game since 2019, when legendary quarterback Tom Brady and New England claimed their sixth Super Bowl victory. Houston's defence was ranked as the NFL's best this season and although the Texans claimed their first play-off win on the road last week, they have suffered a third straight exit at this stage. The Patriots will be on away territory next week as they travel to face the Denver Broncos, the AFC's top seed, for a place in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, 8 February. Mike Vrabel was Brady's team-mate for three of those Super Bowl wins and in his first season as New England's head coach, the Patriots claimed 10 more wins than in 2024 - tied for the biggest turnaround in NFL history. The Patriots have been one of this season's best all-round teams, claiming the AFC's second seed and their first AFC East division title in seven years in Brady's last season in New England. In Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, the Patriots have finally found Brady's long-term successor. At 23, he is a year younger than the record seven-time Super Bowl winner was when he claimed his first NFL title in 2002, and Maye again showed a maturity beyond his years on Sunday. Both he and opposite number CJ Stroud struggled with the wintry conditions and Maye had four fumbles, two of them resulting in turnovers. He also had one interception and was sacked five times by Houston's fearsome pass rush. However, he also delivered three touchdown passes, two of them to help establish a 21-10 lead at half-time and the latter a 32-yard deep shot in the fourth quarter to Kayshon Boutte, who made a superb one-handed grab to seal victory. Meanwhile, after throwing just eight interceptions in 14 games during the regular season, Houston's third-year quarterback Stroud had four interceptions in the first half alone, with one of them returned for a touchdown by Marcus Jones. Ironically, Maye will now go up against Jarrett Stidham, who was initially seen as Brady's successor when drafted in 2019 and was back-up for the legendary quarterback's final season in New England. After joining Denver in 2023, 29-year-old Stidham is now set for only the fifth start of his NFL career because Broncos' first-choice quarterback Bo Nix suffered a broken ankle in their Divisional Round win over Buffalo on Saturday.