The record will show, in many ways, that the New England Patriots took care of business on Saturday night in an AFC divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans. A whopping 16-point favorite, the Patriots covered that point spread in their 34–16 victory.
New England dominated statistically in just about every area: first downs, third-down conversions, total yards, passing yards and special teams’ touchdowns.
And yet, this was far from a perfect victory. A relentless Texans pass rush spooked Tom Brady into two interceptions (he threw two in 12 regular-season games) and he finished with just a 68.