Jets catch another stray as Patriots' defense makes easy work of the Texans

"The New England Patriots are in the AFC Championship for the first time since 2018, in major part due to their incredible defense. They've allowed just 16.3 PPG since the bye, and 9.5 PPG across their two playoff matchups. While the defense has been solid all year, takeaways were not their main method of dominance; instead, they simply limited teams to minimal point totals."

"As of late, however, they've turned things up a notch. New England has forced at least one turnover in each of their last five matchups, and against the Texans, it forced five. Carlton Davis snagged a pair of interceptions, Marcus Jones had a pick-six, and rookie Craig Woodson had both an interception and a fumble recovery after going without either all year."

The Patriots reached the AFC Championship largely on the strength of a dominant defense that has allowed 16.3 points per game since the bye and just 9.5 points per game in two playoff matchups. New England shifted from limiting scoring to forcing turnovers late in the season, recording at least one takeaway in five straight games and forcing five turnovers against the Texans. Key contributors included Carlton Davis with two interceptions, Marcus Jones with a pick-six, and rookie Craig Woodson with an interception and a fumble recovery. The Jets, despite hiring Aaron Glenn, struggled on defense and produced a poor overall performance while the offense ranked 29th after losing Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams.

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