The Texans’ top-ranked defense earned them a lot of hype before the game, but the Patriots’ D showed up in the 28-16 win.
The New England Patriots want the rest of the NFL to respect their defense.
The Houston Texans went into the playoffs with the top-ranked defense in the NFL in the regular season. But it was the Patriots’ defense that stifled Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense on their way to a 28-16 win.
Several Pats stars said after the game that the pregame hype around Houston’s defense fueled them to show up in a big way on Sunday.
“[I]t definitely fueled the whole defense,” defensive tackle Milton Williams said. “Nobody has been talking about our defense all year. We’ll see what they say today.”
New England harassed Stroud all game long, sacking him three times and hitting him nine times. The pressure clearly affected Stroud, as he completed less than 50% of his passes and threw four interceptions, all in the first half. The defense also held the Texans to just 48 yards on the ground and forced a fumble on running back Woody Marks.
It was a coming-out party for the Patriots at the most important time in the NFL season, but it was also a complete reversal of the pre-playoff narrative.
The Texans were the league’s top-ranked defense in yards allowed (277.2) and second in points allowed (17.2) per game. The Patriots were still a respectable force, ranked 8th in yards (295.2) and 4th in scoring. But the Patriots held the Texans’ offense to just a single touchdown, stood their ground on the goal line three times, and forced five turnovers.
Even when the Texans’ defense forced short fields off turnovers, the Pats held up on D. The Pats even got a defensive score when cornerback Marcus Jones returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown.
Defensive lineman Christian Barmore and safety Craig Woodson both said they were keenly aware of the defense’s reputation.
“We see that,” he said. “We just stay quiet. We let our game speak. We’re not about the talk, we’re about the actions. We let the game speak and see what happens.”
“We heard a lot of talk about the Texans’ defense, but at the end of the day, we worry about us,” Woodson added.
“We worry about this defense, we worry about getting stops, [we] worry about going out there and dominating. That’s what we did, but we’re proud of everybody on this defense.”
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez said that head coach Mike Vrabel stressed the defensive identity from the beginning of the season, and the team bought into the culture. He said the defense’s performance meant more to them because they had been counted out going into the postseason.
“We had a plan, we executed, went out there, and we were able to do what we do,” he said.
“Of course, we like us as a defense, and we’ll go up against anybody. It was good to get out there and show what we can do.”
Williams noted that the pressure caused by the defense forced Stroud to panic and adjust. He said the defense just emphasized everybody doing their jobs, and the rest would fall into place.
“It was big for us,” Williams said.
“Every week we try to come out and dominate—knowing that they do have a great defense over there—but in our mind it was our defense versus their defense. So we were going to make more plays, create more turnovers, stop [the] run, get the ball back to our offense, and let [quarterback Drake Maye] make a play.”
The Patriots will play the Denver Broncos and their elite defense in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. The defense will face a challenge of a different sort, preparing for Broncos backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who has not thrown a pass in the regular season since 2023.
But Williams—who was part of the Philadelphia Eagles defense that won Super Bowl LIX last season—said this defense “definitely” has the makings of a champion as well.
“We’ve got dogs on every level of our team,” he said.
“Everybody is doing their job at a high level. We’re all on a string, the communication everything is just working together. Our coaches put us in position to make plays, and we just execute at a high level. That’s all we need.”
