The New England Patriots hosted the Houston Texans in an AFC playoff match this evening, with the winner being rewarded with a match against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship final.
In the end, the Patriots ran out fairly comfortable winners, with Shane Vereen scoring three touchdowns on the way to a 41-28 victory.
The result also saw New England quarterback Tom Brady win his 17th playoff game, taking him clear of the legendary Joe Montana as the quarterback with most playoff wins in NFL history.
You can read how it all unfolded with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute guide below.
Good evening! Thank you for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match, it promises to be a good one!
All eyes will be on the great Tom Brady tonight. The Patriots quarterback will become the most successful QB in playoff history in terms of wins. He is currently level with the legendary Joe Montana on 16 wins, and could move to 17 today.
The match has a lot to live up to, however! This weekend's playoff matches have been nothing short of phenomenal. Last night saw two thrilling matches, and that has continued tonight as the Seattle Seahawks have pulled off a great comeback and now lead the Atlanta Falcons by one point with about 20 seconds left! What drama!
The Falcons have just moved into field goal range with 13 seconds left though! You can follow the last moments live with Sports Mole here.
The Texans will definately fancy their chances tonight despite the Patriots being favourites. Their early-season form was formidable and, although they fell away a bit towards the end of the regular season, they have the quality to beat the best. In fact, they looked like they were the best early on!
But the Patriots will be confident enough going into this one, not least because they thrashed the Texans less than a month ago!
I've already highlighted him, but Brady will be the dangerman for the Patriots today. His is a great of the sport, but we've already seen one legendary quarterback make a mistake this weekend. Peyton Manning threw an interception in overtime against the Ravens, allowing Baltimore to claim a dramatic win.
The Patriots also have the best attack in this season's NFL, while the Texans' defence is only the seventh best. It's no wonder that the hosts are favourites, but we've already seen that anything can happen this weekend!
Case in point: The Falcons looked to have thrown away a lead over the Seahawks in the early match today, but a field goal with 13 seconds remaining saw them claim a dramatic victory. Great match, let's hope this one will be just as good!
We're just under 10 minutes from kickoff now, which means it's time for the prediction! The Texans can beat anyone on their day, but I think that the Patriots will be too good for them today. I am going for a home win by two touchdowns.
A reminder that the winner of this one will progress to the AFC Championship match and will be at home to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Patriots are also the number one ranked team in turnovers this season. They have a real chance of making the Superbowl this year and the Texans will have to be at their very best to stop them tonight.
Brady is keen for his side not to look too far into their comprehensive victory over the Texans in December, saying that they will come up against a different prospect today:
"I think you learn from it. You also understand things aren’t going to be the same. They’re going to see things that they’re working on that are going to be different for us this time around. We do the same thing."
It was the Patriots who kicked off the Texans' poor form with that win, though, so you have to wonder whether that will play on their minds psychologically.
New England are 10-2 in home playoff games with Brady, an impressive record!
The Patriots have also been boosted by the return of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Tonight will be the first time that the duo will have been fully fit on the same pitch since week one, and they are difference makers!
Andre Johnson and Arian Foster will be a danger for the Texans tonight. They will both have to be on top form to overcome the Patriots tonight.
Matt Schaub, the Texans QB, will also need to be on his game. Tonight is a big chance for him to put his name in lights by outshining Brady.
We're underway and what a start for the Texans! Manning catches the deep return and gets a 94-yard return! Fantastic start for the visitors!
Schaub tries to find Casey inside the endzone, but the ball is dropped. Really should've caught that one, big chance to take an early lead!
Schaub's next throw is too high for Johnson so the Texans are forced to go for the field goal. Again they come away from the endzone without a touchdown, but the kick is good and they take a very early lead!
That was a blistering start from the Texans. They needed to make a good start, but Manning's return would've taken even the most optimistic fan by surprise!
Jackson gets in a solid tackle short of the first down mark and the Patriots are third and two, and the throw goes incomplete. They'll punt it, not a great start from New England!
The return from the punt doesn't match the one from the first kick off, and the Texans' man is brought down on his own 20 yard line.
Owen Daniels collects the first down with Schaub's first throw of the attack, and Johnson's repeats this feat straight after.
Another first down for the Texans as Foster gets away from a tackle and races over the line. Steady movement up the field from the Texans!
Schaub is throwing well in the early stages, but Texans are eventually forced to punt and the Patriots will have their first down on their own 10 metre line.
Brady finds Hernandez but he is quickly brought down by James for a gain of four. The next throw also goes to Hernandez, and this time he gets the first down.
Brady tries to expose a mismatch down the right by sending the ball to Gronkowski, but he receives the ball just out of bounds.
JJ Watt bears down on Brady and gets the sack in for a loss of nine yards. Big play from Watt!
The Patriots have got back to 3rd and down, but Branch drops the throw and the Patriots are forced to kick yet again.
Schaub throws a first down with his first play again. He is performing well at the moment, dare I say he's outperforming Tom Brady!
Talib gets in on Johnson to force an incomplete pass and the Texans are now 3rd and 8. The next play is also incomplete and they will punt downfield. Another chance for the Patriots to get their hands on the ball.
Ridley squeezing through the smallest of gaps in the first running play from either side tonight, winning a first down for his side.
Ridley picks up another first down as Brady fakes a pass to him before actually finding the running back. New England are into the Texans' half for the first time!
Vereen gets the biggest play of the day, beating his man on the outside with great pace and he is eventually brought down on the 15.
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS! (Shane Vereen)
Vereen rushes in untouched from a yard out to pick up the first touchdown of the match. The kick is also good to give the Patriots a 7-3 lead!
The kick goes long and the Texans take a knee. They are first and 10 on the 20 line.
Johnson catches the ball just short of the 40 line and the next play is thrown to Foster, who makes it over the first down.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: Texans 3-7 Patriots
Wilson runs with Daniels the whole way and forced an incomplete pass, forcing the Texans to punt.
Welker finds acres of space in the middle and makes a great gain for the Patriots. Vereene them slaloms his way through the defence for another first down and the Pats are now 20 yards from the endzone.
Brady zips the pass towards Welker again but the ball slips through his hands and the pass is incomplete.
Vereen is really stepping up today, he scrambles for a first down and the Patriots are within 20 yards. They make a loss on the next play, however, and reset at 2nd and 25.
FIELD GOAL! Brady goes for the killer pass but it's just out of reach of Welker and the hosts will have to go for a field goal now. They slot it down the middle and we have a seven-point game now!
Johnson is proving to be a good outlet for Schaub today and the two link up again for a first down. Foster is given the ball to rush on the next play and makes a gain of six.
10 yard penalty against the Texans, but they respond with a 25-yard gain as Schaub finds Posey down the middle.
The Texans are at 3rd and 12 but Graham is tackled short of the first down and they will punt downfield now.
JJ Watt swallows Ridley up and drives him back before sending him a message saying "don't try that again". Good defence and the Pats are now 2nd and 11.
The next play goes incomplete but Welker gets the first down on the Patriots' last throw. Another seven-yard gain follows and the Patriots will reset at 2nd and 3.
HUGE PLAY! Brady sends a long one down field to Welker who makes it to the eight yard line. Great throw and great catch. The Patriots are now first and goal.
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS! (Shane Vereen)
Sure enough, Brady makes no mistake with the short pass, giving it to Vereen who once again runs in unchallenged for his second touchdown of the game! The kick is good and the Patriots now lead 17-3!
Manning gives another impressive return, this time 34 yards, before being horse-collared, which results in a further 15-yard penalty for the Patriots.
Consecutive first downs from Foster move the Texans within 10 yards of the endzone. They give it to him again and he makes a three-yard gain and the Texans will reset and 2nd and goal.
The two-minute warning comes up with the Texans in a very dangerous position. They need to come away from the redzone with a touchdown, you feel.
Foster scurrys to within one yard, and I expect they'll give it to him again here...
Sure enough they do, and he runs into a wall of bodies. The Texans think it's a touchdown, the Patriots don't. It'll be reviewed, but it's a borderline decision. Neither of the replays appear conclusive. There has to be clear evidence that it was NOT a touchdown to overrule the on-field decision, and I don't think there is.
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS! (Arian Foster)
Sure enough, the ruling on the field stands. It was very hard to tell where the ball was in the mass of bodies, but there wasn't conclusive evidence that he didn't make it.
The kick is also good and we are back to having a seven-point game!
A decent return from the kickoff is followed by a four-yard gain from Vereen. New England are now 3rd and six on their own 30-yard line.
JJ Watt gets through to Brady and New England will have to punt this one. More great play from Watt there, he really is an impressive player.
The Texans now have the ball just inside their half and could get a quick score at the end of this half if they can get in field goal range.
Schaub finds Daniels, who plucks the ball out of the air in between two Patriots defenders for a first down.
Schaub's pass is incomplete and with seven seconds on the clock they could be thinking of a field goal from range soon. Schaub will throw this next one to try and get some extra yards.
The Texans call a timeout with two seconds left on the clock, just enough time for a field goal attempt.
FIELD GOAL! Graham hits a 55-yard place kick to make it a four point game. That's a career-long kick from the former Patriots man.
HALF TIME: Texans 13-17 Patriots
Well, this one is shaping up very nicely! The Texans fell 14 points behind but have recovered to make it a four-point game now. They'll still fancy their chances and that late field goal has put them within a score of taking the lead.
The Patriots will be confident themselves, however, as they are still in the lead and will begin the second half with the ball.
Foster has put in another good performance so far today, it must be a case of giving him the ball whenever they can for the Texans, he is very dangerous with the ball in hand!
JJ Watt has also been a standout performer for the Texans. He has established himself as one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL, and he is showing exactly why today.
Vereen has also played well since getting his chance due to Gromkowski's early injury, namely crossing twice into the endzone and claiming both of his side's touchdowns.
Right, we're about to get back underway here!
The Texans send the kick long and the Patriots return it up to the 29-yard mark.
Welker makes a gain of six and New England reset at 3rd and 4. Brady sends the pass to Hernandez, who just finds a way over the first down line before running back into traffic.
Welker gets the ball again after Brady releases quickly, and it's another gain of six for the hosts.
BIG PLAY! Brady finds Hernandez down the middle and he won't be stopped easily! He advances to the 12-yard line and the Patriots have the endzone in their sights again.
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS! (Stevan Ridley)
Superb blocking from the Patriots' offensive line as Ridley goes through a mass of bodies untouched from about eight yards out to get the touchdown.
In fact, he ran in from about 13 or 14 yards there! Very impressive rush from Ridley and, again, the offensive line deserve a lot of credit too.
The kick goes long so the Texans will scrimmage on their own 20-yard line.
It looks like a fumble by Daniels and the Patriots think that they have won it back, but the ref says that Daniels was going forward, so the Texans will keep the ball. Controversial call there!
The punt goes upfield so the Patriots have the ball back, just further downfield than they think they should have it!
Brady's pass is incomplete to set up a 3rd and 5 for the Patriots. Brady takes an age over the throw, allowed to do so by his offensive linemen, but his eventual throw is incomplete, so it will be a punt back to the Texans.
The blitz forces Schaub to get the ball away quickly and Foster races up to the 35 yard mark before being hauled down by a diving tackle from Ninkovich.
Schaub fumbles the ball under no pressure! Inexplicable and they lose eight yards! He makes up for it on the next play, however, finding Foster down the middle for a good gain.
Schaub finds Casey for another first down as the Texans move into the opoosition 40. They're working their way steadily up the field, this passage of play started on their own 10 yard line.
INTERCEPTION! Big moment for the Patriots! Ninkovich picks off Schaub's throw with ease to claim an interception! The Patriots have the ball back!
Ridley rushes for a nine-yard gain, just short of a first down but Brady gives it to Hernandez on the next play to take the hosts into the Texans' half.
Ridley rushes for another first through traffic before getting the ball again and bursting through the defence for a big gain! The Patriots will reset at 1st and goal!
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS! (Brandon Lloyd)
It's another faultless visit to the redzone for the Patriots as Brady finds Lloyd who just gets a yard on his man and dives into the endzone to pick up another touchdown for the hosts.
Manning is not allowed a big kick return this time as the Patriots haul him down on the 19-yard line. Graham then gets a gain of seven before Foster's rush fails to make a gain. They reset at 3rd and 1.
Predictably it goes to Foster, who looks to have just fallen short of the first down, but the referee is going to measure it. If it's short then the Texans have a big decision to make.
It is short! Now do the Texans go for it on the 4th down at the start of the final quarter or do they punt it?! Surely they have to give it a go being 18 points behind!
END OF THIRD QUARTER: Texans 13-31 Patriots
They go for it and just...JUST get the first down! Big risk and it's paid off by the narrowest of margins.
The Patriots are challenging the ruling though! They think that Foster was down before he crossed the first down line. This is a big moment in the match!
RULING STANDS! The on-field ruling stands! There was literally centimetres in that one, but Foster did well to roll over and get the crucial extra inches.
Walter plucks Schaub's pass out of the air and as he stretches for the first down he fumbles. The scrimmage will take place one yard from the line on fourth down.
But the pass is incomplete so the Patriots will have the ball back now! This time the risk hasn't paid off.
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS! (Shane Vereen)
Oh and that risk has backfired spectacularly! Brady immediately sends a long one down field that Vereen takes over his shoulder before racing into the endzone. That's his third touchdown of the night and it could be game over.
Another huge return from Manning! He bursts through the middle and is finally taken down having produced a 55-yard return. A quick touchdown here and the Texans could still get back into this one.
A great throw finds Posey in the endzone but he fumbles it before finally getting control of it. The referee says it's incomplete as Posey was out of bounds when he finally had control of it, but Houston will challenge the call. This is another close one, replays show that he may be in bounds by the narrowest of margins.
If that earlier ruling was a big one, this is huge. A touchdown will bring the Texans back into the game. It's such a tight call as well, I don't envy the referees right now!
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS! (DeVier Posey)
The decision is overruled! Posey did very well to recover the ball after it looked like it had got away from him! He gained control of it inches before going out of bounds, and I think that is the correct decision from the officials. Great throw from Schaub too.
Hernandez thinks he has made a first down but they are called back for a pass violation and given a 10-yard penalty. Brady shrugs a defender off before sending a long one down the middle but it's incomplete and then will punt back to the Texans.
Foster makes a gain of nine after Houston benefited from a penalty for a dangerous tackle. Schaub then finds Daniels who is eventually brought down for a gain of 24.
Schaub and Daniels link up again to another good gain and Houston are 1st and goal! They have urgency about them now and look like they still believe that they can win this with a quick touchdown here.
They are now 3rd and goal. They have to come away from the redzone with a touchdown here if they stand any chance of mounting a comeback.
Posey is down in the endzone, giving the Texans a chance to regroup. They need a touchdown on this third down and then they need to get the ball back quickly!
Dennard rushes but gets no gain! Fourth and goal now, they have to go for it...
TOUCHDOWN TEXANS! (Arian Foster)
They do go for it and Schaub finds Foster in the endzone for the touchdown! They opt to go for the two instead of kicking and Schaub finds Johnson who rises well and gets his feet down to make it an eight-point score.
The ball pops free from the short kick and the Texans have a chance to get it straight back but Ninkovich plucks it away from the opposition. That is a big moment in the match, if Houston had regained possession and got a quick touchdown it would've been game on!
Brady's throw is blocked but Jackson is penalised for holding and punished by a five yard penalty and automatic first down.
Brady finds Lloyd down the middle for a gain of eight and a first down. They're nearing victory here.
The Patriots are at third and 10 as the two-minute warning sounds, a chance perhaps for the Texans to get the ball back if they can stop the first down. They need a touchdown and a field goal.
FIELD GOAL! New England wisely go for a field goal on the fourth down and it flies through. That takes them 13 points clear, which means that the Texans now need two touchdowns in the last minute or so. We've seen some drama in the playoffs already this weekend but surely that is an unassailable lead at this stage?
Schaub's first play is incomplete but his second makes a good gain up to their own 44-yard mark. They race up to the line of scrimmage, reset and make another first down.
This one is surely over. They need a hail mary to stand any chance of anything.
FULL TIME: Texans 28-41 Patriots
That's it! The Patriots run out comfortable winners in the end and will face Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive year.
A word too on Tom Brady who has now won more playoff games than any other starting quarterback in NFL history, overtaking the legendary Joe Montana.
Right, that's it from me tonight! Thanks for joining Sports Mole for the AFC playoff match as the New England patriots move one step closer to a second consecutive Superbowl appearance. Good night!
