Late Saturday night, the entire context around Sunday’s game at 1 Patriot Place completely flipped.
As the Broncos put the finishing touches on a 33-30 overtime winner in an instant classic against the Bills, starting quarterback Bo Nix quietly broke a bone in his right ankle, putting an end to a storybook season for the second-year quarterback out of Oregon.
Nix or not, the No. 1 seed in the AFC had still earned the right to host the AFC Championship Game next Sunday. But with former Patriots fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham now the man under center for Denver moving forward, that mile-high homefield advantage hits differently.
With a beat-up Broncos as the carrot, both the Patriots and Texans were playing for more than just a spot in the conference championship game. They were playing for a chance to be a road favorite in the conference championship game.
With that context in mind, the pressure intensified for both sidelines.
And on Sunday, the upstart Patriots continued defying the odds, overcoming a historically great defense to beat the Texans 28-16 and keep their dream season alive.
Here are your Ups & Downs from Sunday’s AFC Divisional Round Game at Gillette Stadium:
Ups:
- Mike Vrabel: On New England’s second offensive possession, the head coach was faced with his first big decision of the ballgame.
On a 4th and 1 from the Houston 28, Vrabel elected to go for it instead of attempting a field goal through the wintery mix with a rookie kicker.
And instead of running some sort of version of the tush push with his 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback, Vrabel opted for a quick slant from DeMario Douglas to the middle of the field. Houston blitzed, leaving the slot receiver just enough space to make the catch past a diving Calen Bullock.
Bullock missed, and it was a house call for Douglas’ first career postseason touchdown.
An extra point later, and the Patriots led the Texans 7-0 with 9:35 to go in the first.
Throughout 2025, Vrabel has never been afraid to make bold coaching decisions. This one early in the game set the tone for a day where Houston mostly looked cold, lost and overmatched.
- Goal Line Defense: For the second straight week, the defensive side of the football for New England came up huge in the red zone during a crucial moment in the first quarter.
After looking like New England had Houston bottled up on a 3rd and 8 from their own 31, tight end Dalton Shultz leaked free of the defense and picked up 42 yards off a short pass from CJ Stroud. And three plays later, a facemask penalty for Carlton Davis III set up the Texans with a 1st and goal from the New England 6.
The sequence then went as follows:
- A run for no gain on first down for Texans running back Woody Marks
- A 5-yard pass from Stroud to Shultz on second down
- A 5-yard penalty for Houston after an illegal shift
- An incompletion on 3rd and goal from the 6 yard line after the Patriots drop eight in coverage
What should have been a touchdown for Houston from the 1 yard line resulted in a field goal, and New England maintained a 7-3 lead.
That stand set the tone for the day. Houston’s defense may be the one that will go down in the history books for regular season success, but New England’s will be the unit that has a chance to play for Super Bowl LX next Sunday.
- Marcus Jones & K’Lavon Chaisson: Two of New England’s most important players to their success in 2025 came up with a huge bang-bang play with just under 11:00 to play in the second quarter.
On a 1st and 10 from the Houston 25, Stroud was met in the backfield by Chaisson after he snuffed out the play action boot. Instead of the 24-year-old taking the sack and living to fight another day, he tried to get the ball out to his tight end in the flats.
Jones, a maven for big plays in whatever phase of the game he’s being deployed, caught the pop up, and took it to the house while being yanked down by his facemask across the pylon.
With the Gillette Stadium crowd feeling uneasy after multiple drives without points for New England’s offense, Patriots Nation exploded.
A hell of a play for two guys that have been making huge plays all season long.
Both players continued to make an impact on the ballgame after this sequence, constantly disrupting Stroud’s rhythm both in the pass rush and in coverage. A tip ball at the line of scrimmage here, excellent coverage in the slot there, tipped balls in coverage, the whole deal. Both players were absolute nails, start to finish.
The best players come up huge when their team needs them, and that’s exactly what Jones and Chaisson did on Sunday.
- Offensive Weapons Picking Up The Slack: After a ho-hum opening drive that ended in a three-and-out, Rhamondre Stevenson got this thing going on his team’s second possession.
On the first two plays, Stevenson accounted for 29 of what ended up being a 66-yard touchdown drive for New England - picking up 9 yards on a first down screen pass, followed by a 20-yard pick-up on the ground off a perfect seal by the right side of the offensive line.
That type of spark is what has made Stevenson the Patriots’ best weapon on offense the last month of the season. When they need a chunk play to grab the momentum, he’s done it every single time.
Fast forward to late in the second quarter, and two of Maye’s most reliable receivers all season long came up huge for him on a day where he needed all the help he could get.
On their lone touchdown drive of that quarter, Maye found Kayshon Boutte for gains of both 25 and 18, with both grabs coming on 2nd and medium to keep the chains moving on the quarterback in motion.
That 18-yard grab set up a 1st and goal from the Houston 7, where Maye found Stefon Diggs for a touchdown that had the former All-Pro receiver making an impressive grab in the midst of a ton of traffic.
An extra point later, and New England was up 21-10 with 3:12 remaining in the half.
Fast forward to the top of the fourth quarter, and old was new again for Maye and Boutte.
Eerily reminiscent of his first career touchdown pass during his first career start last season, Maye found Boutte - the same receiver - for a 32-yard touchdown grab at the same pylon against the same team to help put New England up 28-16 with 12:58 to go.
We’ll talk more about Maye’s performance a little later on, but let’s give Boutte his flowers here. He showed incredible body control to come down with this diving catch, which needed to be reviewed by the booth to officially confirm the touchdown. Nine out of 10 times, the receiver isn’t finishing that play.
Maye had a bad day, and the guys around him picked him up. That’s the mark of a great team.
- Craig Woodson: Instead of creating an entry in “Downs” for Stroud, who was dreadful on Sunday (more on that in a bit), I’m going to throw some love here for the rookie safety who came down with a pick after one of the many bad throws on the day from the Texans QB.
He ended up being listed as questionable to return with a head injury after being tackled post-pick (more on that in a bit), but the play was a nice microcosm of the season the Cal product has had for New England, seemingly always in the right place at the right time all season long.
A healthy Woodson moving forward will be paramount to this team’s continued success.
- Christian Gonzalez: Let’s keep the love going for the secondary today, shall we?
With the Texans driving on a 2nd and 8 from the Patriots 17, the former All-Pro cornerback punched the ball out of Marks’ hands. Woodson, being in the right place at the right time, fell on the ball, and New England had effectively stifled any momentum Houston was building.
With the Texans No. 1 receiver Nico Collins out with a concussion, Gonzalez was money in coverage. When opponents don’t have a true stud receiver for him to go one-on-one with over the course of a game, there are few teams in the league that have the depth to make him look bad.
It’s great news for New England that this guy is healthy moving forward.
Some Ups, Some Downs:
- Carlton Davis III: A roller coaster of a first quarter for the Super Bowl champion.
After an early pass break-up that probably should have been a pick, Davis was called for a facemask that set up the Texans with a 1st and goal from the New England 6. As we talked about earlier, they weren’t able to capitalize. But if they had, Davis would have deserved the anti-hockey assist for it.
On the next possession for Houston, Davis redeemed himself.
On 1st and 10 from the Patriots 36, one of the many bad balls thrown by Stroud throughout the opening frame was picked off by Davis, who came down with a pick that required incredible body control to get a knee down in bounds. He kept possession while making the diving catch, and - for a moment - flipped the momentum in New England’s favor.
In the second quarter, we saw Davis getting called for a 20-yard pass interference penalty that gave Houston a 1st and 10 from their own 39. It was fairly ticky-tack, so there’s no need to give him too hard a time on this call (if this was PI, then every single play from Saturday night’s game between the Bills and Broncos should have drawn a flag).
On that same drive, Stroud threw his fourth (!) interception of the first half (!), with Davis jumping a route underneath that Stroud completely telegraphed and completely threw behind his receiver.
Frankly, it was gross. But good on Davis for taking advantage after the dropped pick earlier in the half.
In the third quarter, Davis was called for yet another DPI, marking the ninth time he’s been flagged for pass interference this season. This one was legit - lots of contact before the ball arrived.
This might just be the life of a No. 2 corner in today’s NFL. You’re going to get opportunities to make big plays, and you’re going to fall victim to some of the other teams’ playmakers.
He was announced as questionable to return with 12:09 to play in the fourth. More on that in a bit.
- Will Campbell: He may have fallen on two fumbles for Maye (more on that later), but he was the reason why his best bud fumbled with 8:08 to play in the third.
That blindside pressure was just that, as Will Anderson Jr. got his big paw in there and made the play.
Sunday was a bounce back day for Campbell after major struggles against the Chargers on Wild Card Weekend. Maye may have been sacked 5 times, but New England’s offensive line deserves credit for keeping their quarterback mostly-upright while playing the NFL’s top pass rush in bad weather conditions.
Downs:
- Drake Maye: Late in the first quarter, the MVP candidate almost put the Patriots in a disastrous position.
On a 3rd and 10 from his team’s 22, Maye thought he had someone open deep downfield. As he cocked back to throw with pressure in his face, All-Pro defensive end Danielle Hunter forced Maye to fumble. Will Campbell fell on the ball for a loss of 19, forcing New England to punt from deep in their end zone.
Yikes.
One possession later, Maye wasn’t so lucky.
On a broken play on 2nd and 5 from the New England 23, Maye lunged forward to try and save the play. In doing so, he left the ball loose for a potential fumble. That’s exactly what happened, as defensive tackle Tommy Togiai knocked the ball free. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair fell on it, and Houston had snatched back the momentum previously grabbed by New England after Davis’ pick.
Six plays later, and Stroud was finding Christian Kirk in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to help give the Texans a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
Sure, the defense gave up the touchdown. But make no mistake about it - that score for Houston was a demerit for Maye.
Fast forward to the final possession of the first half, and Maye was yet again strip-sacked by an All-Pro defensive end. This time, it was Anderson. And lucky for New England, big No. 66 was there to fall on the ball yet again. Had Campbell not fallen on that ball, Houston would have had the time and field position to turn a 21-10 game into a 21-17 game just before half.
His strip-sack fumble on the offense’s first drive of the second half was more on Campbell. It needs to be mentioned during his entry, but Campbell took his own lumps in the previous section.
Fast forward to the final play of the third quarter, and Maye took a dangerous sack for a loss of no yards while racing toward the line of scrimmage. He thought he had room to scoot, and was met with force by Hunter.
Can’t keep playing with fire like that, man.
Denver’s defense is really good. And if they take care of business the way they should against Stidham, they might be faced with a Seattle defense of a similar caliber.
These types of games at this point in the season are the types of performances that lose you ballgames. For being the guy who has almost single-handedly won New England many games this season, it would be a shame if he were to be the guy that lost them a legit shot at their seventh ring.
- Kyle Williams: With New England’s offense in desperate need of life in the second quarter, Maye placed the ball perfectly in the rookie wide receiver’s hands on what would have been a first down pick-up-and-some on a 3rd and 9 from their own 39.
Williams couldn’t come down with the grab at the sideline, and it was time for yet another punt for the Patriots.
While Williams has had a mostly quiet rookie season after early buzz during training camp, he has been the recipient of some huge explosive plays for the offense at times.
Sunday was not one of those days.
- Injuries to Monitor: Robert Spillane briefly exited the ballgame with a thumb injury. The team announced him as questionable, and returned thereafter.
With just over 11:00 to play in the second quarter, running back TreVeyon Henderson remained down on the field for more than a few moments before walking off on his own power with members of the training staff jogging alongside. He was back in the game the following series.
Following his interception during the second quarter, Woodson took a hard tackle from Xavier Hutchinson during his return. As the receiver threw his entire body at Woodson, he inadvertently got him on the head, sending him to the blue medical tent. The team announced him as questionable to return with a head injury.
During the second quarter, Stevenson was announced as questionable to return with an eye injury. He was back on the field for New England’s first drive of the second half.
With 12:09 remaining in the fourth quarter, Davis was announced as questionable to return with a head injury.
All of these players are incredibly important to New England’s success moving forward. Keep an eye on all of their status’ during the upcoming week of practice.
The Patriots will be on the road for the AFC Championship Game in Denver next Sunday, with kickoff set for 3:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
A win on Sunday will give the Patriots their first appearance in the Super Bowl since the 2018 season.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.