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Patriots 28, Texans 16: New England Advances to First AFC Championship Since 2018

The Patriots will visit the Broncos in Denver next Sunday for a chance to reach the Super Bowl.
Mike Kadlick|
The Patriots are on to the AFC championship game.
The Patriots are on to the AFC championship game. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

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New England PatriotsHouston Texans

FOXBORO, Mass. — In what became one of the sloppiest defensive slugfests you'll ever see in the National Football League, the Patriots took down the Texans 28–16 on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium and—behind a suffocating defensive performance—clinched their first AFC Championship Game appearance since 2018.

Both signal callers were far from perfect in this one, with C.J. Stroud throwing four first-half interceptions for Houston while Drake Maye turned the ball over three times himself. The Patriots, however, were able to capitalize with a pick-six from cornerback Marcus Jones, and although Maye had his fair share of misses, he delivered when it mattered most, throwing three touchdown passes to three different receivers, including a game-sealing bomb to Kayshon Boutte—who hauled in a one-handed grab over Derek Stingley.

New England will now head to Denver next weekend, where they’ll take on the Bo Nix-less Broncos for a 3:00 p.m. ET kickoff—with a chance to advance to Super Bowl LX on the line.

Thanks for following along with us! We'll continue to have up-to-the-minute coverage throughout the remainder of the NFL playoffs right here at SI.com.

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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is an NFL writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s also a New England Patriots reporter for CLNS Media, where he hosts the Patriots Daily podcast and covers the beat from Gillette Stadium. Before joining SI, Kadlick worked at WEEI sports radio in Boston. He holds a master’s degree in public relations from Boston University. When Kadlick’s not covering football, he can be found running, spending time with his wife and dog, and enjoying all things pizza.

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