The Texans and Patriots faced off on Sunday Night Football in a game with playoff implications for both teams. Houston received the opening kickoff, going into a three-and-out on the drive. On New England's second drive, Tom Brady found tight end Rob Gronkowski for a 40-yard reception to set up first and goal. To end the drive, Brady found Keshawn Martin for a 2-yard touchdown pass. With Stephen Gostkowski making the extra point the Patriots took a 7-0 lead. On 3rd and 18, Brian Hoyer found Nate Washington for a 49-yard pass to put Houston at New England's 25 yard line. The Texans ended the drive with a 37-yard field goal from Nick Novak to trail 3-7 late in the 1st quarter. The Patriots extended their lead early in the 2nd quarter to 10-3 with a 43-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski. After struggling to find their run game after the loss of Arian Foster, Jonathan Grimes took off for 37 yards to put the Texans at the Patriots' 43 yard line. The drive ended with another Novak field goal, this time from 45 yards. With Novak's kick good, Houston trailed 6-10 with 9:26 left in the half. To close out the first half, Tom Brady found Gronkowski for a 1-yard touchdown pass. With Gostkowski making the extra point New England extended their lead to 17-6 going into halftime. The Texans failed to score in the 2nd half, falling to the Patriots 27-6. Hoyer left the game late in the 4th quarter due to a possible concussion, with T. J. Yates coming in as the starting quarterback.. How many points did the patriots win by?