The New England Patriots intercepted Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud four times in the first half of an AFC Divisional Weekend game on Sunday. The New England offense didn’t do anything with the takeaways, but Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones did.
In New England’s 28-16 victory, the former Enterprise High School and Troy standout returned an interception for a touchdown as the Patriots took a 14-10 lead with 10:31 left in the first half. New England never trailed again as it broke the Texans’ 10-game winning streak and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
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While the Houston offense gained 241 yards and lost five turnovers, New England gained only 7 more yards than the Texans and lost three turnovers.
But Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who lost two fumbles and threw an interception, also had three touchdown passes while enduring five sacks against the AFC’s No. 1 defense.
Maye completed a fourth-down pass to wide receiver DeMario Douglas for a 28-yard touchdown and the game’s first points with 9:35 left in the first quarter. Maye threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs as New England took a 21-10 lead with 3:12 left in the first half, and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte made a one-handed catch for a 32-yard touchdown and a 28-16 Patriots lead with 12:58 to play.
Houston turned Maye’s first lost fumble into a touchdown for a 10-7 lead with 12:51 left in the first half. But the Texans fumbled the ball back to New England after the second. Maye fumbled four times, but the Patriots recovered at their 3-yard line in the first quarter and their 46-yard line in the second quarter.
Twelve players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field in the snowy game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts:
Will Anderson Jr. (Alabama) started at defensive end for the Texans. Anderson recorded three sacks and forced two fumbles. Houston recovered one of the fumbles at the New England 33-yard line with 8:08 left in the third quarter, but the Texans fumbled the football back to the Patriots five snaps later. Anderson recorded the second three-sack game of his career, with the first also coming against New England in a 41-21 victory on Oct. 13, 2024. A first-team All-Pro selection in 2025 with 12 regular-season sacks, Anderson now has eight sacks in six postseason games, the most for an Alabama alumnus in NFL playoff history. During Sunday’s game, Anderson moved past the six sacks of New York Jets defensive lineman Marty Lyons in seven playoff games and the 6.5 sacks of Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Derrick Thomas in 10 playoff games.Jake Andrews (Stanhope Elmore, Troy) started at center for the Texans.Christian Barmore (Alabama) started at defensive tackle for the Patriots. Barmore made two tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and registered one quarterback hit.Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (Clay-Chalkville) was designated as a game-day inactive. Collins sustained a concussion in Houston’s Wild-Card Weekend victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night, forcing the Texans to play without the Pro Bowl pass-catcher.Texans defensive tackle Marlon Davidson (Greenville, Auburn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.Carlton Davis (Auburn) started at cornerback for the Patriots. Davis made four tackles, recorded one tackle for loss, intercepted two passes and broke up two more before leaving the game to be evaluated for a concussion. Davis recorded the second two-interception game of his career as he became the first Auburn alumnus with two interceptions in an NFL playoff game.
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Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (Alabama A&M) is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and not eligible to play.Patriots tight end CJ Dippre (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. Texans linebacker Christian Harris (Alabama) made one tackle on special teams.Tytus Howard (Monroe County, Alabama State) started at right offensive tackle for the Texans. Howard has started at three offensive-line positions this season and had been slated for left guard on Sunday. But when Trent Brown’s injured ankle did not respond in warmups, Houston switched Howard to right tackle.Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville, Alabama) started at linebacker for the Patriots. Jennings made five tackles and recorded a sack for the second straight game.In addition to his pick-six, Marcus Jones (Enterprise, Troy) broke up another pass, made two tackles and returned four punts for 53 yards. Kamari Lassiter (American Christian) started at cornerback for the Texans. Lassiter made five tackles and broke up three passes.Patriots safety Dell Pettus (Sparkman, Troy) made one tackle and broke up one pass.Texans cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) made one tackle on special teams. In the fourth quarter, the former high school quarterback ran down a long punt by Tommy Townsend to keep it from going into the end zone, and Houston downed the football at the New England 4-yard line for a 69-yard punt.Henry To’oTo’o (Alabama) started at linebacker for the Texans. To’oTo’o made eight tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and broke up one pass.Texans safety Jimmie Ward (Davidson) is on reserve/physically unable to perform and not eligible to play.Patriots wide receiver Jeremiah Webb (South Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
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After winning four games in each of the past two seasons, New England will play the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game at 2 p.m. CST Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. CBS will televise the contest, which will decide the conference’s representative in Super Bowl LX.
The No. 2 seed in the conference playoff field, New England won the AFC East title with a 14-3 regular-season record, then defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3 in a Wild-Card Weekend game one week ago.
In the postseason for a third consecutive year for the first time in franchise history, Houston lost in a Divisional Weekend game for the third year in a row. The Texans were the No. 5 seed as the top wild-card qualifier with a 12-5 regular-season record. Houston opened the postseason with a 30-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Wild-Card Weekend game on Monday night.
New England Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings tackles Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud during an NFL playoff game on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.(AP Photo/Steven Senne)