On Sunday afternoon, the New England Patriots punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game with a comfortable home win over the Houston Texans in some snowy conditions in Foxborough. It wasn’t a banner day for Drake Maye and the offense and this one, but the Patriots’ defense was sure up to the task, recording four interceptions of CJ Stroud in the first half alone and completely shutting down the Texans’ offensive attack.
Next up for the Patriots is a road game against the Denver Broncos for a spot in the Super Bowl, and it’s possible that receiver Mack Hollins could be back in the lineup for that one after spending the last several weeks on injured reserve.
After the win against the Texans, Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte revealed that he and fellow wideout Stefon Diggs had been discussing Hollins’ potential return.
“We said one more game before we get Mack back,” said Boutte, per Mark Daniels of MassLive on X, formerly Twitter.
Boutte had a big day against the Texans, including making an unbelievable one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone in the fourth quarter to essentially put the game out of reach for the Patriots.
Meanwhile, Diggs also made some savvy veteran plays in the win, showing off his strong hands for a touchdown grab of his own in the first half.
The Patriots will now be facing off against a Broncos team that has an elite defense but will be playing without its quarterback, Bo Nix, who injured his ankle in the closing seconds of Denver’s win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Still, going into the Mile High City and pulling off a win against a vaunted Broncos defense will be no easy task for New England, so they’d certainly love to have Hollins back in the lineup for that game.
Kickoff between the Broncos and Patriots is set for Sunday at 3:00 pm ET.
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