Despite plenty of effort in the first half, the Houston Texans gave up a potential historic win on Sunday, losing to the New England Patriots 28-26.
Houston was hoping to find a berth in the championship game, buoyed by 30-6 last week's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in their Wild Card matchup.
A win today would have sent the Texans to Denver for the AFC Championship against the Broncos, but instead the season is now over for Houston.
The Texans were behind at the end of the first quarter and were never able to catch up, despite a Ka'imi Fairbairn score with a field goal after the Patriots scored a touchdown.
Houston kept pushing, keeping New England from scoring at all in the 3rd quarter, but there was already a setback when tight end Dalton Schultz was ruled out halfway through the 2nd quarter with a calf injury.
C. J. Stroud had 4 interceptions at the end of the first half,but he was also responsible for what the Texans Wire called the best play of the game, when Stroud went on a third-and-long, Stroud stepping up in the pocket, throwing a floater to tight end Dalton Schultz, who galloped his way for a 42-yard gain.
Some critics called it Stroud's worst game of his professional career, but the Texans will take the 5th season option on his 2027 contract by May 1st because $26.5 million is a low price for a quarterback and Stroud is loaded with talent, as Fox Sports analyst Ralph Vacchiano put it.
The Texans finish the season 12-5-0