Patriots make plenty of mistakes, but not enough to lose to Texans
No matter. Pats win. Pats cover the 16-point spread.
COMMENTARY
The only decent development to emerge from the first half for the Patriots in their divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans on Saturday night was that there would be a second half.
It couldn’t possibly be much worse than what New England managed during an uncharacteristic second quarter. Predictably, it wasn’t.
It’s no surprise, of course, that the Patriots are en route to the AFC Championship Game for a sixth straight season thanks to a 34-16 win over the Texans in a game that never truly materialized into the ugly blowout most presumed it would.
The Patriots turned the ball over three (THREE) times, including two (TWO) interceptions off the arm of quarterback Tom Brady, as many as he threw during the regular season. He also had the lowest completion percentage (47 percent) of his postseason career. Running back Dion Lewis became the first player in NFL postseason history to score touchdowns, receiving, rushing, and on a kick return (98 yards). He also fumbled the ball twice, including a costly loss in the first half that ended up breathing some life into Houston’s empty paper bag of hope. The offensive line played as if Dante Scarnecchia decided to retire again for much of the evening.
No matter. Pats win. Pats cover the 16-point spread.
All is normal. As you were, faint hint of nerves.
“The turnovers obviously hurt us quite a bit, so we’ve got to try and tighten those things up this week,” Brady said after throwing two touchdowns and 287 yards. “Whoever we play next week is going to be a great football team, and we’re going to have to play better than we did tonight on offense.”
Brady had every right to sound as frustrated as he did during his postgame podium appearance. After the first quarter Saturday night, his team was on pace to beat the seemingly hapless Texans by a score of 52-12. Instead, they went into the locker room at halftime nursing a four-point lead, with question marks swirling about the frigid Gillette Stadium air.
“Going into halftime, we were just like we’ve got to play better, do what we’re supposed to do and make them earn it,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty said. “So, we did that, we did a better job of that. But they came and fought hard. That’s what the playoffs are about. Finding a way to win.”
By hanging in the game at the halfway mark, the Texans may have proved to be a little better than everybody thought they might be. But that’s mostly because the Patriots devolved into an offensive enigma in the first half, making too many mistakes. But the Patriots’ defense proved more opportunistic than the Texans’ supposed No. 1 unit, with Logan Ryan, McCourty, and Duron Harmon all picking up key interceptions of $72 million dud Brock Osweiler.
Scarlet Knight pride.
“Big day for Rutgers,” head coach Bill Belichick said of the trio of alums.
That sparked a smile on Belichick’s face after the game (Rutgers University, Bon Jovi, and Halloween candy rank somewhere near the top of the man’s passions in life), but he was obviously perturbed about the mistakes (penalties and dropped balls rank among his most reviled banes) he saw from his football team Saturday night, goofs and blunders that won’t flow as easily into a 18-point victory against the likes of either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Kansas City Chiefs, arriving next week for the the right to raise Lamar Hunt.
“Give them credit, but we’ve got to do better than that,” Belichick said.
“It was a lot of things,” Brady said. “I think between what they were doing and what we were doing that was causing us some problems. Just very inconsistent for us all the way around. we just didn’t do enough in any area, but they’ve got a good defense.”
The list of positives does start with the cementing of Lewis as a postseason weapon. Julian Edelman became the Patriots receiver with the most postseason receptions ever and contributed 137 yards receiving. Chris Hogan was a deep threat, including a 45-yard gain on a ball that looked like Brady had been taking passing lessons from Tim Wakefield.
But it was that kind of night. The Patriots made plenty of mistakes and they still creamed the Houston Texans.
Never a doubt. Right?
“I think we’ve just got to learn from it,” Brady said. “I think the team did a good job playing against us. They had some good scheme stuff that worked, they have some good rushers, and they have good guys in coverage. It was a lot of things and then when you add our poor execution on top of that, and then you add our turnovers on top of that, it doesn’t feel great because we work hard to play a lot better than we played.”
The Patriots now have to wait a little longer to discover their opponent next weekend, with the ice storm in the Midwest pushing Sunday’s 1 p.m. start for Steelers-Chiefs to prime time. Worth the wait, especially for a team that has already made history by making the title game six years straight.
Belichick didn’t seem impressed.
“I don’t really care about the other five years right now,” he said. “It’s about this team.”
Brady sounded a little more pleased with the accomplishment.
“Pretty cool,” he said. “Let’s go win the AFC Championship Game. That would be very cool.”
Cool.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com