FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mike Vrabel returned to New England on a mission to have the franchise playing again in meaningful games in January — as he did so often as a player.
In his first year as the head coach, he wanted to do it by building a culture of players that wanted to perform for each another. Their most complete team effort of the season has the Patriots one win from a trip to the Super Bowl.
Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes in the snow and rain, Marcus Jones returned one of C.J. Stroud's four interceptions for a score and the Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 28-16 on Sunday to advance to the AFC championship game for the first time in seven years.
The Patriots (16-3) will take on the Broncos (15-3) in Denver next Sunday, with the winner advancing to the NFL's title game in three weeks.
"Everybody's stepping up. We're using everybody. Everybody's making plays. Everybody's helping us win," said Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a playmaking linebacker for the Patriots. ''I'm excited for these guys, but also, they're not satisfied, and I can tell that.''
The Patriots — winners of 15 of their last 16 games — will make their 16th conference championship game appearance and first since their run to their sixth Super Bowl title under Bill Belichick in the 2018 season. New England has won its last nine divisional round games.
Maye finished 16 of 27 for 179 yards, but had an interception and fumbled four times, losing two in cold conditions in which snow and rain fell throughout. One of Maye's fumbles set up Houston's first touchdown.
''Just proud of the guys,'' Maye said. ''Battled the elements. This is New England. This is what we're trying to embrace and we want to embrace all season long. Props to our defense, played a hell of a game. We've got to protect the football better, but we made enough plays to win it.''
