The Patriots Prove Once Again That The First Half is Overrated

Coming off their epic comeback victory over the Broncos, the Patriots naturally had a major letdown the following week. Luckily for them, they were playing the Texans (2-10 overall, 1-6 home), one of the true dredges of the NFL in 2013. New England (9-3 overall, 3-3 away) escaped Reliant Stadium with a 34-31 win. Houston has lost 10 games in a row and truthfully, if the Pats had played almost any other team they would have fallen short.

The first half was an abomination for New England as they fell behind 17-7 vs. backup quarterback turned starter Case Keenum (272 yards) and backup running back turned starter Ben Tate (22 carries, 102 yards, 3 TDs).The Patriots outscored the hapless Texans 27-14 in the second half. After wasting some time before I wrote this, I can only conclude that (cliché alert!) a win's a win in the NFL and you take them any way that you can. The only thing that matters is that New England kept pace with Denver (who won at Kansas City) and retained the No. 2 spot in the AFC playoff picture.

You know it's a weird one when James Develin scores his first career NFL TD, Stevan Ridley is inactive with fumbleitis, LeGarrette Blount scores a rushing TD and Stephen Gostkowski hit not one but two 53-yard field goals. Tom Brady (29 of 41 for 371 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) was great save for one awful underthrown pass intended for Rob Gronkowski (6 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD). Julian Edelman (9 catches, 101 yards) also had an excellent performance, making up for Danny Amendola's (5 catches, 54 yards) quiet day.

Houston got off to a fast start as Tate ran for an 8-yard score in the first quarter and Randy Bullock hit a 43-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. Gronk caught a 23-yard touchdown that was inches off the ground; you know he's back at full speed since it was his fourth straight game with a TD grab. The Pats did nothing in the second quarter and Tate added a 20-yard rushing touchdown for a surprising 17-7 halftime advantage. Logan Ryan had picked off Keenum but Gostkowski missed a 55-yard field goal attempt on the ensuing drive.

Aqib Talib had a rough outing as Andre Johnson (8 catches, 121 yards) showed why he's still one of the best wide receivers in the game. New England went ahead momentarily with a quick succession of TDs: a bruising 1-yard run by Develin (who went to Brown University) where he broke numerous tackles and a 9-yard catch by Shane Vereen. Houston regained the lead-24-21-with a 5-yard run by Keenum. Wait what?

Blount's 7-yard run made it 28-24 Patriots early in the fourth quarter but Tate had one last burst-10 yards for the touchdown. New England's offense sputtered but Gostkowski bailed them out on that hazardous turf.

Expect more of this same crappy brand of football next week as the Pats host the Browns (4-8, 4th in AFC North) on Sunday (1, CBS) at Gillette Stadium. As if you haven't noticed, New England plays down or up depending on its level of competition this season. That is not a good sign since Cleveland lost 32-28 today at home vs. Jacksonville. It doesn't get much lower than that.

UPDATE 12/4: The Patriots released tight end D.J. Williams who played a grand total of three snaps vs. Houston. New England now has a roster spot open.

UPDATE 12/5: New England re-signed veteran wide receiver Austin Collie. That tells you that Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins are still banged up, he's also insurance for Julian Edelman (knock on wood).

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Patriots Dispatch Texans 41-28, Return To AFC Championship & Rematch With Baltimore

If you want to beat the Patriots (13-4, 7-2 home) in the playoffs at Gillette Stadium, it takes basically a perfect gameplan with likewise flawless execution. Neither of those things describe the Texans (13-5, 6-3 away), who lost 41-28 tonight in the AFC Divisional Round game.

New England advances to its seventh AFC Championship Game under Bill Belichick and it is a rematch of last year as Baltimore comes to Foxborough on Sunday (6:30 p.m., CBS). Atlanta hosts San Francisco in the NFC Championship (3 p.m., Fox). The win took a serious toll on the Pats though as Rob Gronkowski broke his forearm again so he's done for the playoffs while Danny Woodhead (thumb) and Chandler Jones (ankle) left with injuries in the first half and never returned.

Tom Brady (25 of 40, 344 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs) was better than Matt Schaub (34 of 51, 343 yards, 2 TDs, INT) but the bigger surprise was that Wes Welker (8 catches, 131 yards) outperformed Andre Johnson (8 catches, 95 yards) and Shane Vereen (41 yards rushing, 83 yards receiving, 3 total TDs) did his best Arian Foster (90 yards rushing, 63 yards receiving, 2 TDs) impression.

Don't let the final score deceive you, this was a blowout. New England was up 38-13 in the fourth quarter before Houston scored a couple late touchdowns, forcing the Patriots to recover an onside kick. The Texans have plenty of talent but their conservative playcalls on offense, Schaub's tendency to falter in the big moment not to mention their shaky defense will hold them back from ever doing anything really notable. Oh and Houston head coach Gary Kubiak is medicore at best.

You knew the Texans were in trouble when Danieal Manning took the opening kickoff 94 yards (Devin McCourty saved the TD) but they couldn't punch it in for a score. Shayne Graham hit a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. Vereen's 1-yard TD run late in the first quarter gave New England a 7-3 lead that they would never relinquish.

A 37-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski and 8-yard TD catch by Vereen made it 17-3. Foster's 1-yard TD run (when he might not have crossed the goal-line) gave the Texans some life at 17-10 then the Pats couldn't figure out what they wanted to do at the end of the first half. Houston took advantage, forcing a punt then moving down the field and watching Graham hit a career-long 55-yard kick to cut it to 17-13 at halftime.

New England seemed to be the only team to come back for the second half. They rattled off three straight touchdowns to put it away. Stevan Ridley (82 yards rushing) rumbled in from 8 yards out, Brandon Lloyd caught a 5-yard TD pass then Brady hit Vereen with a beautiful 33-yard TD catch early in the fourth quarter.

DeVier Posey's amazing 25-yard touchdown grab was ruled no catch at first but correctly overturned after review. Foster added a 1-yard touchdown catch before Gostkowski's 38-yard field goal made all the gamblers happy since it allowed the Patriots to cover.

Other standouts for the home team: Aaron Hernandez (6 catches, 85 yards), Aqib Talib (10 tackles, 9 solo) and Rob Ninkovich (4 tackles, 2 solo, 2 passes defensed, tackle for loss, quarterback hit), who recorded the only turnover of the game with a key interception of Schaub in the third quarter. The Pats turned that into seven points on Lloyd's touchdown.

New England has to thank Baltimore (12-6, 5-4 away) since their incredible 38-35 double overtime win last night in Denver allowed the Patriots to host the AFC Championship for the second straight season. The Ravens are a familiar foe since they played in Week 3 in Baltimore (a 31-30 Ravens win) not to mention in last season's AFC Championship (a 23-20 Patriots win thanks to Billy Cundiff's missed chip shot at the end). Baltimore is riding a serious wave of emotion because Ray Lewis is apparently retiring at the end of this season (I'll believe it when I see it).

Last season along with Week 3 have no bearing on what will transpire on Sunday night. These teams play every season and even though the Patriots usually come out on top, the margins are always very close. They don't need extra motivation but the Pats are also chasing immortality as Tom Brady became the winningest quarterback (17 wins) in playoff history with today's victory and Bill Belichick is now third in wins (18, 2 behind leader Tom Landry and 1 behind Don Shula).

Las Vegas lists New England as a 9.5 point favorite (same as vs. Houston) against Baltimore. It seems like a bit too much but the Patriots have proven that they have no problem hanging 30+ on almost anyone in the NFL. The question will be can Joe Flacco and the Ravens score enough to knock off the Pats?

UPDATE 1/14: The Pats hired former Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to a yet unnamed position on their coaching staff. Daboll is only 37 and he started his career in New England (2000-06). He was a defensive assistant here then a wide receivers coach. It'll be interesting to see what his role turns out to be going forward next season, maybe this means Josh McDaniels is leaving since he was hired last season around this time and ended up taking Bill O'Brien's job.

UPDATE 1/17: Kevin Faulk and Matt Light will be the honorary team captains for New England on Sunday. They both were part of individual ceremonies earlier this season so hopefully they'll bring their old team good luck.

Also today, it was announced what we already knew: Rob Gronkowski's season is over as he was officially placed on IR. The intriguing part is that opens up a roster space which has to be filled by 4 p.m. on Saturday. What practice squad player will hit the lottery and get to dress for the AFC Championship Game? Stay tuned for that pertinent information.

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Well I Guess We Know Who The Best Team In The AFC Is After Monday Night

It's no wonder that we (Patriots fans) are all honks and lunatics that are despised by the rest of the country. Really though, how are you supposed to act when one team spoils us so many times in one magical decade? What was billed as the AFC game of the year turned out to be no contest as New England (10-3, 5-1 home) blew the doors off Houston (11-2, 6-1 away) 42-14 at Gillette Stadium in Monday Night Football.

This wasn't your garden variety Patriots beating since the Texans are the top team in the AFC and they had been unbeaten on road this season. Somehow the team that called this "the biggest game in their franchise's history" didn't manage to show up for it. New England won their seventh straight game overall and their 20th consecutive home game in December. Thanks to global warming, Houston didn't even get treated to proper weather since it was 59 degrees at kickoff.

Tom Brady (21 of 35, 296 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT), Brandon Lloyd (7 catches, 89 yards, 2 TDs) and Stevan Ridley (18 carries, 72 yards, TD) were collectively much better than Matt Schaub (19 of 32, 232 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), Andre Johnson (8 catches, 95 yards) and Arian Foster (15 carries, 46 yards, TD; 4 catches, 39 yards). As we all know, football is a team game and while those numbers were great for New England, what was even more impressive was their fast start and excellent defensive effort.

Vince Wilfork (4 tackles, 3 solo, sack, tackle for loss, pass defensed) and Jerod Mayo (7 tackles, 6 solo, tackle for loss, 2 quarterback hits) were the best defensive players on the field which is saying something since Houston defensive end J.J. Watt (4 tackles, 2 solo, 3 quarterback hits) will likely by the NFL Defensive Player of the Year this season. Houston had no answers for those two or Dont'a Hightower (6 tackles, 5 solo, 2 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits), Devon McCourty (5 tackles, 5 solo, tackle for loss, pass defensed, interception) and Rob Ninkovich (5 tackles, 2 solo, .5 sack, 1 quarterback hit) for that matter.

The final outcome was never really in question as the Pats jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, 21-0 advantage in the second quarter and the Texans didn't get on the board until the third quarter when Foster's 1-yard run cut it to 28-7. Ridley fumbled near the goalline on New England's first drive but Aaron Hernandez (8 catches, 58 yards) recovered it and caught a 7-yard touchdown on the next play. Fortune later shone on the Patriots in the fourth quarter when Danny Woodhead fumbled (after Watt punched the ball out) following a nice catch and run but it went to the end zone, right to Lloyd.

Lloyd caught a 37-yard touchdown on a beautiful play action fake by Brady. That made it 14-0 and Hernandez added a 4-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. One of the more ironic parts is that after that score, the Texans defense actually held the Patriots in check for a while. They punted four times in a row (including three 3-and-outs to start) but all was forgiven when Brady hit Donte' Stallworth for 63-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.

That was Stallworth's first grab of the season and most impressively, it was caught one-handed while the cornerback was all over him in coverage. Ridley's 14-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter made it 42-7 before Texans backup quarterback T.J. Yates had a 1-yard touchdown run in garbage time.

Houston still has the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs but this game had to give New England so much confidence. They destroyed what had been (record wise) the best team in the NFL and made the road to home-field and at least a No. 2 seed very possible. If the Patriots win out and the Texans slip up once more, bingo they are No. 1.

The Niners (9-3-1, 1st NFC West) come to Gillette Stadium on Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC) for another primetime matchup with one of the NFL's top teams. After a short week and given that this wasn't even competitive, the law of averages would tell you that game will be much closer. Then again, after tonight's beating, it's impossible to predict how well the Patriots can play/how poorly a legitimate contender performs. The other main point for New England against San Francisco is that the Niners represent the last good team that they will see until January. The Pats could beat the Jaguars and Dolphins in their sleep so they might as well empty the tank (within reason) this week.

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