Foxborough, MA

Tom Brady covered 344 yards on 25-for-40 passing with three touchdowns while running back Shane Vereen had two scoing grabs and ran for a score as the New England Patriots whitewashed the Houston Texans, 41-28, Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

The Patriots are back in the AFC Championship game after coming through with a dominant performance over the Texans on their home field.

Brady was once again in his element, firing long passes and tactically tearing the Texans defense apart. The Pats also got a big boost from Vareen, who covered 83 yards on five receptions with two TDs and ran for 41 yards on seven carries with one TD.

Vareen rushed for a TD in the first quarter and then received an 8-yard TD pass from Tom Brady to spark the Pats to a 17-2 lead. But the Texans narrowed the lead to 17-13 before halftime behind Arian Foster TD run and Shayne Graham's 55-yard FG kick.

However, the Pats unleashed the championship brand of play in the second half as Stevan Ridley scored on an 8-yard TD run and Brandon Lloyd on a 5-yard reception to rip the game the wide open at 31-13.

Shane Vereen struck again with a 33-yard reception from Brady to give the Pats a huge 38-13 cushion but the Texans tried to mount a miracle comeback as Matt Schaub threw two TDs to make a 10-point game, 38-28, with still 5:11 minutes left on the clock.

But the experienced Pats sealed the victory with a 38-yard FG kick from Stephen Gostkowski.

Schaub went 34-for-51 for 343 yards with two TDs and one interception while Foster covered 90 yards on 22 carries with one TD.

With the victory, the Patriots arranged an AFC Championship rematch with the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

 

 

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