FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mike Vrabel returned to the New England Patriots a year ago on a mission to have the franchise playing again in meaningful games in January — something he did so often as a linebacker on teams quarterbacked by Tom Brady and coached by Bill Belichick.
In his first season as New England’s head coach, Vrabel wanted to do it by building a culture of players who wanted to perform for each other. Their most complete team effort of the season has the Patriots one win from a trip to the Super Bowl.
Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes in the snow and rain, Marcus Jones returned one of C.J. Stroud’s four interceptions for a score, and the second-seeded Patriots defeated the fifth-seeded Houston Texans 28-16 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium to advance to the AFC championship game for the first time in seven years.
The Patriots will face the top-seeded Denver Broncos next Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, with the winner advancing to Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Broncos are hosting the AFC crown showdown after beating the sixth-seeded Buffalo Bills 33-30 in overtime Saturday night in the conference’s other divisional round matchup.
Vrabel is in the AFC title game as a head coach for the second time. In the NFL’s 2019 season, his second of six leading the Tennessee Titans, his team got that far before coming up short against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After spending the 2024 season as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns, Vrabel went back to the place where he played eight of his 14 NFL seasons. He has found a new group of Patriots eager to make a name for themselves.
“Everybody’s stepping up. We’re using everybody. Everybody’s making plays. Everybody’s helping us win,” said Vrabel, who helped the Patriots win three of their six Super Bowl titles in the Brady and Belichick era. “I’m excited for these guys, but also they’re not satisfied, and I can tell that.”
The Patriots — winners of 15 of their past 16 games — will make their 16th conference championship game appearance and first since the run to their most recent Super Bowl title in the 2018 season.
Maye was 16-of-27 passing for 179 yards, but the second-year pro threw an interception and fumbled four times, losing two in cold conditions in which snow and rain fell throughout. One of Maye’s fumbles set up Houston’s first touchdown.
“Just proud of the guys,” Maye said. “Battled the elements. This is New England. This is what we’re trying to embrace and we want to embrace all season long. Props to our defense, played a hell of a game. We’ve got to protect the football better, but we made enough plays to win it.”
Carlton Davis III had two interceptions for New England’s defense, while Craig Woodson added his own pick and a fumble recovery.
The eight combined turnovers — Houston’s Woody Marks also lost a fumble — were the most in an NFL playoff game since 2015, when the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers totaled that many in the NFC championship game.
“They bring it every week,” Maye said of New England’s defense. “It’s fun to watch. And we could help them out some more, but just proud of the guys. Enjoy this one, and we’re back on the road.”
The Texans have lost in the divisional round in three straight seasons under coach DeMeco Ryans. The franchise fell to 0-7 in this round.
“We’ve done a great job all year protecting the football and running the ball well. That’s been our formula,” Ryans said. “To come here when we needed it most, and we didn’t protect the ball — it’s tough to think that you’re going to win a game and you turn the ball over five times.”
Stroud was 20-of-47 with a touchdown pass. All of his interceptions happened in the first half as he became the first player with five or more picks and five or more fumbles in a single postseason. Houston linebacker Will Anderson forced two fumbles.
“I feel like I let people down,” said Stroud, who was coming off a three-turnover performance in Monday night’s wild-card playoff win against the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers. “I’m not happy with that. It hurts. I’m not used to it.”
With the Patriots leading 7-3 early, a series of miscues produced the next two scores.
Maye was strip-sacked by Danielle Hunter deep in Patriots territory, but left tackle Will Campbell fell on the ball and the Patriots punted. The Texans gave it right back when Stroud’s deep pass along the sideline was intercepted by Davis.
Maye fumbled again when he attempted to run on a busted play but the ball was stripped by Tommy Togiai and recovered by Azeez Al-Shaair. Six plays later, Stroud linked up with Christian Kirk on a 10-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
However, on Houston’s next drive, Stroud was rushed up the middle by K’Lavon Chaisson and he lofted a pass that was intercepted by Jones and returned for the score — his second pick-6 of the season — to put New England back in front.
Late in the first half, the Patriots’ lead increased to 21-10 when they capped a five-play, 56-yard touchdown drive with a 7-yard pass from Maye to Stefon Diggs.
The Texans had just 12 giveaways during the regular season and had a plus-17 turnover differential that was second best in the NFL.
“When the snowflakes stop, I think it’s a little easier to throw the football, got a little better grip,” Maye said. “I think C.J. probably would say the same thing. We both probably had some throws that were tough, it was tough to get a grip on it.”
Leading 21-16 in the fourth quarter, the Patriots stretched their lead to 27-16 when Kayshon Boutte got behind Derek Stingley Jr. and pulled in a diving, one-hand catch in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
The Texans had the ball with 5:48 to play, but they punted on fourth-and-18 at their own 21 with 4:18 remaining.
New England’s next drive took the clock under two minutes. The Texans got the ball back but turned it over on downs when Stroud’s fourth-down pass to Xavier Hutchinson was batted down by Robert Spillane.
The Patriots now go back on the road, where they are 8-0 this season.
“We feel like we deserve to be here,” Maye said. “I like our chances with those guys in the locker room.”