FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Houston Texans hung around into the third quarter, but even though they battered Tom Brady , and even though they capitalized on uncharacteristic New England mistakes, the Patriots prevailed — again — in the postseason.
New England used three touchdowns from Dion Lewis to defeat Houston, 34-16, in Saturday’s divisional round game to stamp their ticket to the AFC Championship Game and will host the victor of Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs .
The Patriots set an NFL record — since the 1970 merger — for consecutive trips to conference title games with six.
New England led from start to finish, and built an early 14-3 lead behind a pair of first-quarter touchdowns from Lewis — one via a 13-yard reception and the other on a 98-yard kickoff return.
In consecutive possessions, however, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a tipped-pass interception intended for receiver Michael Floyd , Lewis fumbled a kickoff return, and New England went three-and-out.
The Texans closed the gap to a four-point margin, thanks in large part to an unrelenting pass rush, but New England pulled away in the second half.
Brady finished 18-for-38 for 287 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
His two picks matched his regular-season total, despite throwing 432 passes in 12 games.
Lewis became the first player in NFL history to record a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a kick return touchdown in a postseason game.
The Texans, meanwhile, needed their offense and quarterback Brock Osweiler to play a near-perfect game. He didn't. Osweiler finished 18-for-38 for 287 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
