Le Journal

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained ahead of training camp that he was looking at his team’s performances in three distinct categories. There is the good, the bad, and, as he called it, the s—t that gets you beat. The Patriots’ 28-16 win over the Houston Texans in Sunday’s divisional round playoff game featured a mix off all three. So, if the coach wants to look at his team through those categories, who are we to disagree? Let’s break down the game in exactly that manner. The good: Defensive opportunism The Texans defense was one of the main talking points entering Sunday’s game, and it repeatedly showed why on Sunday. However, when all was said and done, it was their Patriots counterpart that came away victoriously. Limiting Houston’s offense to only 16 points and 3.3 yards per play, the unit led by acting defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr was outstanding yet again. Just like the previous week against the Los Angeles Chargers, it put the opposing quarterback in a blender and did not let up. The biggest area of success, however, might have been the unit’s ability to capitalize on mistakes. C.J. Stroud threw errant passes all day, and four of those ended up in the arms of Patriots defenders. Carlton Davis hauled in two, bookmarking picks by Marcus Jones — who returned his 26 yards for a touchdown — and Craig Woodson. The latter also added a fumble recovery in the third quarter. “They’re playing well together,” Vrabel said about his team’s ability to generate takeaways. “I feel like they’re complementing each other, and our turnovers are created by more than one guy. There’s some great efforts. But it’s somebody tipping a pass or it’s somebody that’s putting pressure that’s usually helping — or Zak’s dialing something up that kind of changes the look. We’re taking advantage of our opportunities. And that’s what it’s going to take in the playoffs: you’ve got to take care of the ball and turn it over.” Through two playoff games so far, the Patriots have taken the ball away six times while also forcing three turnovers on downs. It’s a winning recipe. The bad: Early-down performance Heading into the divisional round, we mentioned winning on early downs as one of the Patriots’ offensive keys to the game: failure to perform in those situations would allow the Texans’ vaunted pass rush to pin its ears back and attack an offensive line that has had its problems in protection the previous week versus the Chargers. Indeed, those early downs proved to be one of the stories of the day for New England. It just didn’t go the way they would have hoped. Not counting a kneel-down to end the game, the Patriots had 29 first down plays against the Texans. They averaged 3.4 yards on those with a success rate of 37.9% as well as eight plays resulting in no gain or a loss of yards (27.6%). To their credit, the Patriots were on point on first down on the time-consuming, run-heavy drive after Kayshon Boutte had scored a 32-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Overall, however, their issues on first down repeatedly put the team behind the sticks and created unfavorable situations for the offense for much of the day. The s—t that gets you beat: Pass protection The Patriots knew that the Houston defensive line had the potential to be a problem, and indeed it was. Led by the outstanding edge duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, the Texans harassed quarterback Drake Maye all day long. When all was said and done, the face of the Patriots franchise had been sacked five times, and hit on seven total occasions. He also fumbled four times, with two of those loose balls ending up with the offense and the other two going to the defense as turnovers. It was rough out there, both for Maye and his offensive line. Rookie Will Campbell in particular had a difficult time handling Anderson, and the first-team All-Pro finished with three sacks and two forced fumbles. Hunter…

When Drake Maye and the New England Patriots offense entered the field with 1:32 left in the third quarter of their divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans, momentum had started to shift their opponent’s way. Houston had penetrated into Patriots territory on two of its three possession of the half, and thanks to a pair of field goal reduced its deficit to only five points. For the Patriots, on the other hand, their previous two drives of the second half were more of the same. The first ended in a fumble, the second in a punt. A spark was needed, and they found it in what will go down as one of the best catches in Patriots playoff history. Going deep down the right sideline against first-team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr, Kayshon Boutte was able to lay out and haul in a 32-yard touchdown from his quarterback. The score put the home team up by 12 points, and gave it a much-needed cushion in the early fourth quarter. More importantly, it showed that Maye and the Patriots offense, despite all the challenges they faced, were still able to rise above and deliver when needed the most. It was championship-caliber resilience on display. “Nothing’s really going to be perfect. You’ve just got to continue to fight, to scratch, to claw. Some things might not go your way, and you just have to come back, keep swinging,” said tight end Hunter Henry after the game, offer particular praise for his young QB. “I’m proud of him for continuing to do that. Just continuing to step up today in a major way, and when we needed him. He’s done it all year, but today was pretty, pretty special in those elements, the elements in Foxborough and everything. He’s a special, special player and a lot of fun to play with.” Left tackle Will Campbell echoed Henry’s thoughts on Maye. “He is who he is for a reason,” the rookie said. “Nothing can make him flinch, I’ve said it before, and I like our chances anytime he’s in the game. He’s just a heck of a player, even better leader. I wouldn’t want anybody else commanding the huddle.” Playing at an MVP level during the regular season, Maye went up against two of the better defenses in the NFL in the wild card and divisional rounds. The results have not always been pretty and include six combined fumbles by the Pro Bowl QB as well as five total turnovers (although we need to cut him some slack for his Hail Mary interception on the final play of the first half on Sunday). And yet, Maye and the entire offense around him continuously found a way to elevate their game in the biggest moments. They did so on last week’s touchdown pass to Hunter Henry, and again versus Houston when Boutte hauled in what turned out to be the final score of the afternoon. “We talk about not going in the blender,” said head coach Mike Vrabel. “And I think it’s hard. They put pressure on us, and we know we’ve got to take care of the ball. Drake knows that. But to be able to stay the course and to trust Kayshon and give him a great ball that was him or nobody, and those guys have kind of done that all year — when we needed a play, they’ve been able to do that for us.” “We did what we had to do in the game,” added Maye. “The elements were a little tough. I have to be better with the football when I’m taking off and running. From there, just know that the football is the prized possession. And when we don’t turn the ball over and put the team in the best spots, I like our chances.”

The talk leading up to the Patriots vs. Texans divisional playoff matchup was centered around Houston’s defense. That resulted in many media members picking the Texans to prevail. New England’s defense took note. “We see that. We just stay quiet. We let our game speak,” Christian Barmore said. “We’re not about the talk, we’re about the actions. We let the game speak and see what happens.” Taking the field on Sunday, their game spoke for them. New England’s defense held C.J. Stroud and the Texans to just 16 points while forcing five turnovers — one directly resuling in six points on an interception return for Marcus Jones. “It definitely fueled the whole defense. Nobody has been talking about our defense all year. We’ll see what they say today,” Milton Williams said. “Every week, we’re trying to come out and dominate knowing that they do have a great defense, but in our minds, it was our defense versus their defense. See who could make more plays, create more turnovers, stop the run and get the ball back to our offense.” Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, New England’s defense is allowing just 9.5 points per game. Beyond intercepting Stroud four times on Sunday, a healthy run defense flashed their early season dominance holding Houston to 41 rushing yards on 21 designed carries. “Everybody was talking about them all week and I think it just turned us up,” safety Jaylinn Hawkins said. “Respect to them because they balled. They get after it. We just wanted to show what we can do and that’s what showed tonight.” As the Patriots now have clinched their spot in the AFC Championship Game behind a defensive performance, wide receiver Stefon Diggs hopes the national narrative regarding the defense stays the same going forward. “It’s a good thing,” the veteran said. “Hopefully they do that again this week because that’s another good defense we’re about to go see. I feel like I spoke on it not too long ago, but playing with a chip on our shoulder. I think we’re one of those teams that play better with a chip on our shoulder – when everybody kind of counted us out.  “I think there was a handful of commentators and people, the little tidbits that I do see – because I try not to see too much – they all picked Houston to win. I mean, for a good reason – that’s a good football team, and I understand their vantage point. All we can do is come in, work hard during the week and put ourselves in the best position to win the game.”

The New England Patriots won a slugfest on Sunday in Foxborough against the visiting Houston Texans. It was a game that saw eight total turnovers, including a pick-six by Marcus Jones, his sixth non-offensive TD since the 2022 season, which is best mark in the NFL during that span. With Jones and the defense leading the way, the Patriots beat the Texans 28-16 and punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2018 season. Let’s get into our lessons learned from the divisional round battle at a snowy Gillette Stadium. Defense wins divisional games For the second week in a row, the Patriots were stuck in a defensive battle. The offenses both struggled, but turnovers ultimately proved to be a major difference: New England was able to force five of them, including the aforementioned touchdown by Marcus Jones. The Patriots only turned the ball over three times, and they were ultimately able to do enough against a spirited opponent. The Texans defense, of course, got the headlines all week. Ultimately, however, the Patriots defense was the more dominant unit on Sunday and the main reason that they won this game and are moving onto the AFC Championship. “It was a group effort,” said head coach Mike Vrabel of his defense after the game. “We talked about it being a group effort. Whether that’s understanding the call, understanding where each guy fits.” Drake Maye does enough Drake Maye had a rough game against Houston’s defense, fumbling the ball four times and losing two of them. (He also threw an interception, but it was on a Hail Mary, so I don’t really blame him for that one.) His pocket awareness wasn’t great, and he missed some opportunities, like the deep passes to Kyle Williams where he had a step on cornerback Kamari Lassiter. As much as he struggled under the Texans’ relentless pressure — he was sacked five times on the day and never really was able to operate from a clean pocket — he became the only quarterback to throw for three touchdowns against this defense in 2025. The matchup was difficult, he didn’t play like the MVP on Sunday, and he has to be better next week. But Maye did enough to win on Sunday, and that’s all that really matters. Will Campbell is in a funk Patriots first-round draft pick Will Campbell has been solid for most of the season, but he had a rough game against one of the best edge rushers in the league, Will Anderson Jr. The Patriots seemed unwilling to give him help for most of the game, and Anderson was able to get in and sack Maye three times and also forcing a pair of fumbles. There were some questions about Campbell going into the season, and, though he’s been good most of the year, those questions loomed large on Sunday. He is still a rookie who missed substantial time with a knee injury this season, but the fact is that if he keeps playing like that even against top-tier competition, it is going to be increasingly tough to justify him staying at left tackle long-term. Patriots receivers know how to catch Drake Maye has been great all year, but his receivers have not gotten enough credit for some of the plays they have. That continued on Sunday, with two highlight-reel catches by Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. The one-handed reception by Boutte will get the attention, and rightfully so, but the degree of difficulty on Diggs’ touchdown is no joke either. Catching it away from his body, while his hands are being ripped down, and with a defender hitting him in the face is no easy feat. Ultimately, both of those catches show just how good the two receivers are, and Maye did a nice job of putting the ball there for them as well. They are going to need to keep making some tough catches next week as well, when they face off against another dominant defense in Denver. Carlton Davis injury is a concern Carlton Davis stepped up big time on Sunday. The free agency acquisition picked off C.J. Stroud twice, with both of them being right on the sideline. He also looked…