The New England Patriots forced four turnovers in the first half as part of a dominant defensive showing as they hold a 21-10 lead over the Houston Texans at halftime of their AFC Divisional Round tilt on Sunday afternoon.
Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, and Craig Woodson all picked off Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in the first half, with Jones returning his interception for a touchdown to re-take the lead in the second quarter.
New England got the scoring started on their opening drive of the game, going up 7-0 on a 28-yard touchdown reception from DeMario Douglas.
The Texans would get on the board on their ensuing drive with a 25-yard field goal from Kaimi Fairbairn, before Stroud found Christian Kirk for a 10-yard touchdown to take a 10-7 lead.
The Patriots would respond with Jones’ pick-six, and Maye would grow the lead to 21-10 with another touchdown pass, this time to Stefon Diggs on a seven-yard strike.
Maye finished the first half with 117 passing yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble, while Stroud recorded 124 passing yards, a score, and four interceptions.
Houston will be without starting tight end Dalton Schultz for the remainder of the game after he suffered a calf injury in the first quarter, further depleting their receiving corps with Nico Collins already unavailable while in concussion protocol.
The Texans will get the ball to begin the second half.
The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the AFC Championship, where the Denver Broncos await after defeating the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round on Saturday.
