It’s not Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but the New England Patriots are back in the AFC Championship with, fittingly, a big day from their quarterback and a dominant defense leading the way in the elements. Drake Maye threw for three touchdowns, and the New England defense forced five turnovers — including four first-half C.J. Stroud interceptions — in a 28-16 divisional round win at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots will face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game; Denver will start backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham after Bo Nix suffered a season-ending broken bone in his ankle late in Saturday’s win over the Buffalo Bills.

Maye’s outstanding touchdown pass to Kayshon Boutte — who beat All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and  caught the ball with one hand — proved to be the dagger, though the Texans had plenty of mistakes that put them in such a dire situation in the first place.

Maye finished 16-for-27 for 179 yards, three touchdown passes and three turnovers and five sacks. Crucially, he lost just one of his three fumbles, with the Texans’ pass rush wreaking havoc but unable to totally take advantage on a pair of loose balls.

The Texans led 10-7 early in the second quarter when Stroud threw his second interception of the day. It was an awful decision to even try to make the throw and an even worse result: Marcus Jones brought back the pop-up pass 26 yards for a touchdown.

Maye delivered another touchdown pass before halftime — this one a 7-yard strike to Stefon Diggs — to make it 21-10 at the break. Stroud, meanwhile, became just the second player in the last 35 years to have four interceptions in a single playoff half.

The Texans drew to within 21-13 early in the second half and got to 21-16 late in the third quarter, but that was as close as they got: Maye answered Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 51-yard field goal with the touchdown to Boutte above, and a woeful, undermanned Houston offense (no Nico Collins, and Dalton Schultz left with a calf injury early) had no hopes for a comeback, especially as the snow intensified.

Stroud finished 20-for-47 for 212 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He had a 28.0 passer rating, the worst by a  starting quarterback in a playoff game since Brian Hoyer, also playing for the Texans, over 10 years ago.

CBS Sports will have takeaways shortly.