Patriots Live Blog: Pats Come Out Of Houston With 21-Point Win, No. 1 Seed In AFC

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

Final, 27-6 Patriots: That's all she wrote. Three kneeldowns, and this one is over. The Patriots make it out of Week 14 as the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They also clinched the playoffs tonight, which would be the headline in many other cities. But, of course, the Patriots have obviously shifted expectations over the years.

Fourth quarter, 2:00, 27-6 Patriots: Brandon Bolden still wants to ply football. He just ran right through the would-be tackle by Demps, charging ahead to move the chains. The Patriots can now essentially end this game, as Houston has no timeouts left.

Fourth quarter, 3:16, 27-6 Patriots: Another sack, this one from Hicks, and the Texans had to punt again.

Brady is still in the game, if you're curious.

Fourth quarter, 4:45, 27-6 Patriots: Second-and-24 ... you might want to cover Rob Gronkowski. The Texans didn't, and they watched as Gronkowski easily caught a pass up the seam and ran for a 34-yard gain.

On the next play, Brady had nowhere to go with a pass and decided to tuck it and run for a rare 13-yard pickup.

The drive hit a rut after that, with Clowney sacking Brady to force a third-and-long. They had a chance on third down, but Stork missed his block on a screen to James White, and the Patriots were forced to punt.

T.J. Yates is in the game at quarterback for Houston.

Fourth quarter, 9:15, 27-6 Patriots: Brian Hoyer is having a rough night back there. He just got walloped by Hicks on a fourth down, as the Patriots came up with yet another sack to get the ball back. The Texans were in decent position after Hopkins finally came down with a long reception along the right sideline, but it was all for naught (thanks in part to a ridiculous Wildcat, diamond left formation that fooled zero Patriots).

The Patriots take over at their own 38, looking to move the chains and run some clock so they can get out of Houston with a victory.

Fourth quarter, 12:04, 27-6 Patriots: James White went right up the gut on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, essentially untouched on his way into the end zone, and the Patriots now have a commanding 21-point lead.

That should be enough to win it. Should be.

All the credit for that score goes to Sheard, whose individual effort and burst forced the turnover deep in Houston territory. Given how the offense was sputtering, the Patriots really needed the defense to make a game-changing play.

Fourth quarter, 13:25, 20-6 Patriots: Jabaal Sheard burst through the line on the Texans' first play, spinning Hoyer to the ground and knocking the ball loose in the process. Sheard really is bringing it tonight.

The Patriots take over inside the Houston 10-yard line.

Fourth quarter, 13:37, 20-6 Patriots: What do you know -- another third down sack.

This one came from Whitney Mercilus, who spun past Bryan Stork en route to charging directly at Brady on a third-and-7.

After the nine-yard loss, the Patriots again had to punt. Shorts returned it out to the 18. We haven't seen a first down in a while.

Third quarter, :59, 20-16 Patriots: The Patriots answer with a third-down sack of their own. Rob Ninkovich blasted past the right tackle and went leaping right into Hoyer. Akiem Hicks came over the top for good measure.

Amendola fair caught a short punt at the New England 35-yard line, and the Patriots offense once again gets to work. Not much offense in the past few minutes, but the defense has been pretty darn good.

Third quarter, 2:37, 20-6 Patriots: On a third-and-3, the Texans only rushed three men, but Jadaveon Clowney dominated Sebastian Vollmer and Shaq Mason in getting to Brady and coming up with a sack. Patriots had to punt, and Houston takes over at their own 39.

Third quarter, 4:46, 20-6 Patriots: The call was overturned, but it didn't matter, because Jabaal Sheard came flying off the left end and destroyed Hoyer. The QB fumbled the ball, and it bounced backward about 15 yards toward midfield. Houston recovered, but they were well out of field-goal range at that point, and they were forced to punt on a fourth-and-31.

But it was a costly play for New England, as Dominique Easley went down with an injury. He walked off the field under his own power, but really favoring his left leg.

On the punt, Amendola fair-caught it at the 11-yard line.

Third quarter, 5:05, 20-6 Patriots: For the time being, the Patriots have themselves a fumble recovery. But I think on replay review, it it will be ruled an incomplete pass, as the ball looked to have just slipped out of Hoyer's hand as it was moving forward. You never really know with these reviews, but that one looks pretty clear-cut.

It should be third-and-8 from the 32-yard line for Houston after it gets overturned.

Third quarter, 7:30, 20-6 Patriots: The huge stop by the D didn't turn into much for the offense, but it allowed New England to keep Houston off the board and flip the field. The Pats went three-and-out and punted. Houston takes over at their own 39-yard line.

In injury news, Devin McCourty walked off the field due to injury. That's a potentially huge loss.

Third quarter, 8:56, 20-6 Patriots: The Patriots' defense has answered the bell.

Jamie Collins and Jerod Mayo combined to force a fumble on the first play after the muffed punt, but the officials curiously ruled after the fact that forward progress had been stopped. This was a suspect call. Nevertheless, the Patriots kept playing, stopping Grimes behind the line on second down. Butler broke up a pass that was in Washington's hands in the end zone on third down, and the Texans elected to go for it on fourth down. Hoyer threw over the middle to Ryan Griffin, but he couldn't hang on, as the newcomer Johnson again came up with a huge pass breakup.

So ... no harm, no foul on the Martin flub.

Third quarter, 10:32, 20-6 Patriots: Keshawn Martin was having a great night, but he just muffed a punt and gave the Texans the ball back. Deja vu, anybody?

The Texans now get the ball at the New England 22-yard line. A muffed punt return obviously helped contribute to the Patriots' loss two weeks ago on a Sunday night. We'll see how this one affects this game.

Third quarter, 11:48 third, 20-6 Patriots: The catch was indeed overturned, again on video that really couldn't be described as "incontrovertible," and the Patriots were forced to go for three. Gostkowski's 49-yarder was drilled, right down the middle, hitting the net about 75 percent of the way up the goal posts. Stephen's been eating his Wheaties.

Third quarter, 11:57, 17-6 Patriots: Another replay review! This one, I believe, will be overturned, as James White's heel appeared to go down out of bounds before he gained full possession on a leaping catch over Andre Hal. It was an incredible effort along the right sideline, but it looks like his heel might have tapped out. My record in the past 10 minutes is spotty, so we'll see.

Third quarter, 12:09, 17-6 Patriots: Well, turns out the officials think the ball bounced off the turf, not Amendola's hands. I'd argue there was certainly no incontrovertible evidence, but I'm not on the crew tonight.

Third quarter, 12:52, 17-6 Patriots: The second half got off to a rousing start for the New England offense, as Brady dumped a short pass to James White, who ran away from Vince Wilfork and ended up turning it into a 27-yard gain. On the following play, Bolden dragged the entire Houston roster on his back for an impressive gain of five. After LaFell picked up a first down on a crossing route (he's recovered nicely from that early drop), Brady underthrew a wide open Amendola, but Amendola made a diving attempt to get back to the ball.

He appeared to catch it and it was ruled a catch, but it's currently under review. It will be first-and-10 at the Houston 38-yard line after it gets upheld.

Third quarter, 14:54, 17-6 Patriots: As the second half gets underway, the Patriots announce that Blount will not be returning to tonight's game. Bolden did pick up where Blount left off, so we'll see if the Patriots continue to run the ball.

Halftime, 17-6 Patriots: Rob Gronkowski is no decoy.

After LaFell set up a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Gronkowski motioned out wide to the left and found himself in man coverage with Quintin Demps. Gronkowski used the 7-inch height differential to his advantage and went up like Shaquille O'Neal hauling down a rebound. When he came down, he had his 10th touchdown reception of the season.

The Patriots haven't exactly been excellent in terms of execution late in the first half this year, but they were near perfect on that drive.

Houston took a knee after the touchdown, and the Pats take an 11-point lead into halftime.

For Gronkowski, it's the fifth time he's caught 10 or more touchdowns in a season. There has been one season when Gronkowski caught fewer than 10 touchdowns. In that one, he missed nine games.

Second quarter, :28, 10-6 Patriots: It's second-and-10 from the 12. Keshawn Martin came up with a 13-yard catch-and-run on a third down to help get the Patriots into the red zone.

Second quarter, 2:45, 10-6 Patriots: Brian Hoyer rushed a pass on third-and-3, and the Texans were forced to punt. Martin again came through with a punt return, this one an 11-yarder that sets up the Patriots' on the Houston 41-yard line.

The Patriots are basically on the edge of field goal range already, and you know how much they love scoring going into halftime and coming out in the third quarter. They're in good position to complete the first part of that equation right here.

Second quarter, 4:15, 10-6 Patriots: The drive stalled out, thanks in large part to a Tre' Jackson holding penalty on Vince Wilfork. When your job is to stop Vince Wilfork from getting to where he wants to go, you're inevitably going to pick up a holding penalty.

Ryan Allen punted from near midfield, got a bounce inside the 10, and Matthew Slater was there to down it on the 3-yard line. Ninety-seven yards lie ahead of Brian Hoyer and the Houston offense.

In injury news, Blount walked to the locker room, so it doesn't look like he'll be a part of the rest of the game, at this moment.

Second quarter, 8:14, 10-6 Patriots: LeGarrette Blount was on a bit of a roll, picking up 13 yards on two runs early in the drive, but after a six-yard run up the middle, he remained down while holding his hamstring. He's been a big part of the offense thus far tonight (53 yards on 10 carries), so if he remains out, that'll put the onus back on Brady's shoulders.

Second quarter, 9:26, 10-6 Patriots: The Texans answer right back, as Nick Novak booted a 45-yard field goal to give the Texans another three points.

Jonathan Grimes found a seam off the right end and made the Patriots pay, bursting for a gain of 37 yards on the first play of the drive. Two plays later, Hoyer hit Shorts over the middle for a gain of 10, and the Texans were in field-goal range.

The Texans sure do love themselves some Wildcat formation tonight, even though the results haven't exactly been there. Credit to the Patriots' defense for staying disciplined and not falling for any trickery.

Yet they did get beaten the old-fashioned way with that Grimes run, and as a result their lead was cut to just four.

Second quarter, 12:13, 10-3 Patriots: Brandon LaFell. Drop. It's really getting old.

This one came on a second-and-8 at the Houston 30-yard line. Brady lobbed a pass over the middle to a wide open LaFell, who had a chance to turn upfield either for a first down or to set up a third-and-short. But instead, LaFell dropped it, and Brady handed to James White on third-and-8. He only picked up five yards, and the Patriots had to settle for a field goal.

Brady's keeping his cool, but that drop was as bad as it gets. LaFell's in his own head right now, and I'm not sure how he's supposed to get out of it.

In any event, Gostkowski's 43-yarder was good, and the Patriots lead by seven again.

End of first quarter, 7-3 Patriots: LeGarrette Blount didn't hear a whistle, so LeGarrette Blount just kept on going. The running back was tackled by Brian Cushing, but Blount rolled right over Cushing's body, got right back up and kept going, after he never hit the ground. When he was finally dragged down by a whole host of red jerseys, he had himself a 17-yard gain.

The quarter came to an end after a short pass to LaFell moved the chains. It'll be first-and-10 at the Houston 47-yard line when the second quarter begins.

First quarter, 2:38, 7-3 Patriots: Impressive drive by Brian Hoyer, who escaped the grasp of Jabaal Sheard to complete a pass on the first play of the drive and later connected with Nate Washington for a 49-yard bomb on a third-and-18. Washington burned past Butler after the cornerback bit on an in-cut, allowing the big reception.

But the Patriots' D put a stop to things there, thanks to a huge third-down pass breakup by Leonard Johnson, who signed with the Patriots just a few days ago.

Nick Novak kicked a 47-yarder to get the Texans on the board.

First quarter, 7:22, 7-0 Patriots: The Patriots have the first lead of the night.

On the first play of the drive, Brady faked a handoff to Blount and rolled out right. It looked like Brady could have run for a few yards, but he instead decided to throw across his body, all the way to the let sideline, where Rob Gronkowski got himself open. The defender fell to the turf, allowing Gronkowski to haul in the pass and rumble down to the 7-yard line with a 45-yard gain.

Two plays later, Brady hit LaFell in the end zone for a touchdown, but it came back due to an illegal formation.

Two plays after that, BRady hit Martin for a touchdown pass in the left side of the end zone. But this time it counted, as the flag was for two fouls on Houston, including a roughing the passer penalty on J.J. Watt.

First quarter, 9:43, 0-0: The Texans went to the Wildcat on third down, and Rob Ninkovich was not fooled. He came off the defensive left end, did not bite at all on the play-fake by Cecil Shorts, and then torpedoed the temporary quarterback for no gain.

Keshawn Martin had another impressive return out to the 47-yard line, and this one didn't come back due to a penalty. Martin looks like he has an extra pep in his step going against his old team.

First quarter, 11:23, 0-0: The two teams have now exchanged three-and-outs.

Vince Wilfork blew up a second-down run by Blount, forcing a third-and-10. Brady had no options on third down (but plenty of time), and eventually decided to air out a deep pass to LaFell. Jonathan Joseph made a great play on the ball to knock it away, and the Patriots punted.

Gronkowski was in there on first down to block for Blount, but was not on the field on second or third down.

First quarter, 13:01, 0-0: The Patriots' defense could not have had a better start. They stopped Chris Polk for a short gain on first down, Jerod Mayo shot into the backfield for a two-yard loss by Polk on second down, and Dominique Easley just bullied his way into Brian Hoyer for a sack on third down.

Keshawn Martin had a great return on the punt to midfield, but it came back due to a block in the back. First-and-10 Patriots at their own 34-yard line.

First quarter, 15:00: Stephen Gostkowski's kick went deep into the end zone, and the Texans will start first-and-10 at their own 20.

8:26 p.m.: The Patriots won the toss and elected to defer. Houston will get the ball first.

8:17 p.m.: It's just about time for kickoff. This one's really interesting because it's hard to say with any confidence what will happen. Everything's on the table tonight.

7:54 p.m.: Scott Zolak is uniquely in tune with Rob Gronkowski. They are in many ways kindred spirits. So when Zo reads Gronk, you can get a decent idea of what's going on.

7:22 p.m.: The Raiders have beaten the Broncos, and the Patriots are now in the driver's seat in the AFC. Things really can change quickly in the NFL.

The loss is the third of the year for Denver, meaning the Patriots are currently the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That will be temporary if the Patriots can't take care of business in Houston, but Tom Brady's team now completely controls its own destiny. Win out, and the No. 1 seed is theirs.

7 p.m.: Rob Gronkowski will indeed be active.

The Patriots announced their inactives right on time, and a noteable name is guard Josh Kline. His play, like the rest of his linemates, has dipped a bit in recent weeks, but his absence nevertheless hurts an already thin unit.

Here's the complete list of the Pats' inactives:

DL Geneo Grissom
G Josh Kline
S Tavon Wilson
DL Sealver Siliga
WR Julian Edelman
LB Dont'a Hightower
WB Damaris Johnson

6:51 p.m.: Well, we knew already that the AFC playoff picture was changing this afternoon, but no matter what happens in Denver and Oakland, this may be the biggest news of the day.

Now, I don't think anybody in the country was worried about facing the Andy Dalton-led Bengals in the playoffs, due to their ignominious history in big games. Still, that's a huge loss. Backup QB A.J. McCarron was good at Alabama, but the SEC isn't exactly the NFL. If Dalton is indeed done, it's hard to believe in the Bengals at all.

6:43 p.m.: In terms of scoreboard watching, things are looking good for the Patriots at the moment. The Raiders just took a 15-12 lead over the Broncos in Denver. Even though Jack Del Rio decided to go for two for absolutely no reason, Oakland still does have a field-goal lead.

And in terms of Patriots news, well, here's Bill.

6:23 p.m.: And here are the results of that paparazzi treatment:

We should know whether or not Gronkowski is active for sure around 7 p.m., but based on reports, it seems like he'll be a go.

5:55 p.m.: Rob Gronkowski gets the Kim Kardashian paparazzi treatment from the cameras in Houston.

4:50 p.m.: If the Patriots take care of their own business, they'll be in good position to end the year. But thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots might have been gifted a little bit of room for error, just in time for the holiday season.

Earlier this afternoon, Pittsburgh opened up a 23-7 lead over the Bengals in Cincinnati, en route to a 33-20 victory. That gave the Bengals their third loss of the season, instantly putting the two-loss Patriots in prime position to earn a first-round bye.

For Patriots backers, the Raiders-Broncos game currently taking place ought to draw some interest, as a second Broncos loss could give the Patriots a better chance at earning that No. 1 overall spot in the AFC. (The Broncos are up 6-0 in the first half right now.)

But of course, none of what goes on outside of the Houston city limits today won't matter much if the Patriots can't take care of their own business. Tonight, that work is to try to limit J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins, which is a lot easier said than done.

As you know by now, Rob Gronkowski will be suiting up tonight, according to reports, and if he's close to full speed after suffering that knee injury two weeks ago, the Patriots offense becomes exponentially more dynamic.

Whatever goes on in this game, it'll be right here in the live blog, so check back early and often as the Patriots look to improve to 11-2 in this, their sixth prime-time game of the season.

Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

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