The New England Patriots’ divisional round win over the Houston Texans on Sunday was a slugfest in the truest of senses. Being played at a snowy Gillette Stadium, it pitted two impressive defensive units against one another in wet and cold conditions. As a consequence, more often than not, offense was lacking: of the combined 29 competitive possessions, eight ended in a turnover, with 13 others resulting in punts.
Amidst all of it, the Patriots did get some standout contributions from several of their
players. On the whole, however, our position-by-position breakdown shows that the 28-16 win was a struggle for much of the afternoon.
Patriots position grades from NFL divisional playoffs
Quarterback: During the regular season, Drake Maye did a good job keeping the ball out of harm’s way. In his two playoff games, however, he has now fumbled six times with three of those ending up as turnovers. Four of his fumbles, including two that were lost, came against the Texans (as did an interception on a Hail Mary play we are not going to blame him for). Needless to say, ball security needs to be a major point of emphasis heading into the AFC Championship Game. Outside of the turnover issues, he also missed some throws against a defense that came after him relentlessly all day. When all was said and done, however, Maye’s inconsistencies were counterbalanced by some top-tier passes including his touchdowns to Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte. All in all, the good therefore still outweighed the bad. | Grade: C
Running back: Besides missing time in the first half due to an eye injury, Rhamondre Stevenson had another solid outing. The Patriots’ lead back showed his trademark power and combined it with good vision and the patience to let his blocks develop. As a result, he ended the day with 16 carries for 70 yards — not a bad outing against one of the best run defenses in the NFL. His ball security was also top-notch despite going against a physical defense in challenging conditions. TreVeyon Henderson, meanwhile, was very much a non-factor on the day. Not only did he gain just 25 yards on 12 carries and, much like Stevenson, had nowhere to go in the screen game, he also, seemingly purposefully, received only limited pass protection reps. | Grade: B+
Wide receiver: The Patriots had five wide receivers on their game day roster, and employed all of them in the game. Only three ended up making a difference, but it was a big one. DeMario Douglas scored the game’s first touchdown when he quickly got open against a man coverage call on 4th-and-1; Stefon Diggs was tied for the team lead with four catches and found the end zone on a 7-yard reception in the second quarter; Kayshon Boutte again proved his big-play prowess by finishing with 75 yards (while also drawing a 17-yard pass interference penalty) including a spectacular 32-yard touchdown grab that proved to be the knockout punch for the Patriots. | Grade: A–
Tight end: Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper had quiet days as receivers, with both catching one pass each and combining to gain just 19 yards through the air. Where their impact was most felt was the blocking. As has been the case all year, the two veterans delivered some good blocks in the running game, including Hooper sealing the edge on the game’s longest carry, a 20-yarder by Rhamondre Stevenson in the first quarter. The lack of receiving production was disappointing, but overall the position group was still good enough. | Grade: C+
Offensive line: The Patriots knew that standout edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter could be problems, and that is precisely what happened. The two combined to take Drake Maye down five times and forced three fumbles along the way. Not all of those sacks can be pinned directly on the offensive line, but one player up front in particular had his issues: rookie left tackle Will Campbell was overwhelmed by the All-Pro Anderson on multiple occasions, and ended up surrendering two sacks on the day. The rest of the line accounted relatively well for itself and the run blocking was quite solid at times, especially on the right side, where Morgan Moses was a standout performer. That said, Drake Maye still had to operate from collapsing pockets throughout the afternoon. | Grade: D+
Defensive line: By mixing five-man fronts and timely blitzes, Patriots defensive play caller Zak Kuhr had Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in hell all day long. Of course, calling and executing a plan are two different things, and the players’ execution was on point. Christian Barmore and Milton Williams controlled the middle of the line, with Khyiris Tonga’s return adding stability at the heart of the run defense. On the edge, K’Lavon Chaisson continued his strong season by adding a sack and seven pressures, including the one that served as the assist on Marcus Jones’ pick-six. Even with Harold Landry not being much of a factor while still nursing a knee injury, the other edges managed to step up. | Grade: A
Linebacker: Even though they were not involved in any of the defensive splash plays, New England’s linebackers still played another very good game. Led by Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss, they were quick to process and came down violently to fill run gaps. In addition, the group also made an impact blitzing and was constant in patrolling the second level of the Patriots’ zone-heavy coverage. Houston rarely found success over the middle, with Elliss in particular having an active day versus the run and the pass. | Grade: A
Cornerback: On Sunday, the Texans became the latest in a series of teams thinking that targeting Christian Gonzalez is a sound offensive strategy. Stroud threw 16 total passes his way in both man and zone coverage and while he did complete seven of them, Houston’s average gain on those plays was just 3.6 yards. Then again, that is still a preferable outcome compared to some of the other passing plays: Carlton Davis intercepted Stroud on two occasions, both times showing impressive body control to get down in bounds, while Marcus Jones turned an ill-fated pass into a punt return that he ran back 26 yards for a pick-six. Gonzalez himself, meanwhile, also forced a fumble on a run play (and nearly had another that was ruled down by contact after review). The Texans did win some of the battles — all three of the team’s penalties came against Davis — but the war as a whole decisively went to New England’s CBs. | Grade: A-
Safety: Craig Woodson continues to develop into a quality starter in the Patriots’ defensive backfield, and a player capable of making a big impact. He did so twice on Sunday, first picking off a Stroud pass that went through wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson’s hands for one of four total interceptions on the day, and later jumping onto the loose football following the fumble forced by Christian Gonzalez. Besides the highlight-reel plays, Woodson and fellow starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins also helped eliminate the threat of the Texans’ deep passing game. | Grade: A
Special teams: The Patriots kicked well and covered well, which is the foundation for a successful special teams day. They also were able to get some big returns out of Marcus Jones, who averaged 13.3 yards on his four runbacks — a testament to his ability to get upfield in a hurry and the blocking around him. The only negatives were an inability to seriously threaten Houston on kickoff returns and a pair of missed tackles. | Grade: B+
The Patriots’ divisional round game was more about survival than anything else, but they showed that they could do enough to succeed in that task. The defense was opportunistic all day, while the offense made enough plays to score three touchdowns against an overall impressive unit.
“It wasn’t pretty,” said head coach Mike Vrabel after the game. “Defense kept us in there. When we needed it, our offense was able to come through late in the game.”
How would you grade the Patriots’ performance against the Texans? Do you agree with our assessment? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.
