Texans vs. Patriots 2017 final score: New England overcomes turnovers with big plays that Houston couldn’t match

The heavily-favored New England Patriots didn’t steamroll the Houston Texans quite as easily as many thought they would, but the defense kept Brock Osweiler and the Texans’ offense from making any big plays, and New England still comfortably won, 34-16.

Tom Brady finished the game with 287 passing yards and two touchdowns, improving his all-time postseason record to 23-9.

It was far from a comfortable game for Brady, though. Houston’s No. 1 ranked defense mixed up calls well, sending blitzers into Brady’s face on some plays and dropping all but a few rushers on others. Jadeveon Clowney finished the game with zero sacks, but still managed to get a few big hits on Brady during the game.

Whitney Mercilus and Brian Cushing each finished with a sack, but Clowney was the one that seemed to bother the Patriots’ quarterback the most.

But while the Texans’ offense dinked-and-dunked its way down the field and didn’t capitalize much on good field position, the Patriots’ offense still found a few big plays.

The Texans finished the game without a single offensive play of 20 yards or more, while the Patriots swung momentum with passes downfield. Julian Edelman finished the game with eight receptions for 137 yards.

It was the game-changing plays that made the difference in the game for New England as Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler only managed 198 passing yards, despite 40 attempts. Osweiler avoided mistakes early in the game, but his luck ran out in the second half with three interceptions.

In addition to the plays downfield made by Brady, the Patriots also put the Texans in a hole early with a kickoff returned for a touchdown by Dion Lewis, which has been a problem for Houston in its history in the postseason.

The explosive plays for New England helped make up for the fact that it was a sloppy performance by the typically mistake-free Patriots. While the team finished the regular season with just 11 turnovers all year, it had two in the first half against the Texans.

Brady, who had just two interceptions in 12 regular season games, threw a pair of interceptions against the Texans and had multiple passes nearly picked off. A third turnover came from Lewis early in the game when he fumbled on a kickoff, setting up Houston’s only touchdown of the day.

Lewis had another fumble that he managed to get back, but his mistakes are easier to brush off after he became the first player in NFL history to score a rushing, receiving and return touchdown all in the same postseason game.

The Texans’ offense didn’t capitalize enough on its opportunities and New England pulled away in the fourth quarter, helped largely by three interceptions from Osweiler in the second half.

With the win, the Patriots will play in the AFC Championship for a sixth consecutive season and will host the winner of a Sunday night game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.