Texans-Patriots takeaways: Offensive meltdown dooms Texans

Stroud had turnover problems in the wild-card round in the Texans' win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the defense and running game were so good that they overcame it.

There was no overcoming this performance.

It was also not just about Stroud. The Texans' offensive line was abysmal all day, Woody Marks fumbled away a red-zone possession and passes were dropped routinely. 

The Texans had a Super Bowl-worthy defense this season. The offense did not match it. 

Drake Maye wasn't great, but he still made big throws

If there is one thing you can say in defense of the Texans offense, it is that neither team was particularly good on that side of the ball. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye also put the ball on the ground several times and was not at his best. The overall numbers in terms of completions (16-for-27) and yards (179) are not great. But he still threw three touchdowns and made some big-time throws, including this dagger to Kayshon Boutte in the fourth quarter.

The catch is the highlight of that play. But still a big-time throw. 

Everything has lined up for the Patriots this season

The big narrative around the Patriots all season was that they played one of the softest schedules in the modern era, based on opponents' winning percentages. 

It was not a criticism. It was just the reality of their schedule. You can only play who the league tells you to play, and when to play them, and the Patriots took care of business. After dismantling the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans in the first two rounds of the playoffs, they are back in the AFC Championship Game, where they get one more favorable matchup — a Denver Broncos team being quarterbacked by backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham. 

They still have to win the games. So far, they have. They have one more big chance in front of them.