Pugilistic Pigskins

Rock Fight.

I guess that's pretty much NFL playoff football. A battle of attrition. Trench warfare. Twelve rounds of haymakers and eight counts. All that matters is surviving.

And the Patriots did, beating the Texans 28-16.

Ugly football?

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. I prefer to remember life's sublime moments of pigskin beauty, like Kayshon Boutte's incredible one-handed TD catch that all but sealed the win. Or the beautifully violent choreography of the Patriots defense, as they turned C.J. Stroud upside down and shook all the lunch money out of his pockets.

On most days, I'd tell you that "clutch" is simply a small data sample but after Sunday's divisional win, it feels real, like a base sequence in New England's pigskin DNA. Drake Maye's ineffable cool. Stefon Diggs hands. The TD pass to Pop Douglas on 4th and 1, and of course the Maye-Boutte connection noted above. The Everything of the Pick-6 by Marcus Jones. The defense coming up with stop after stop after stop following Patriot turnovers. Too many high leverage pigskin moments to name where New England found a way to win.

If you had told me before the game the Patriots would turn the ball over three times (1 INT, 4 fumbles, 2 fumbles lost), Drake Maye would pass for less than 200 yards, get sacked five times, with the offense going 3 out of 14 on 3rd Down, I probably would've said, "Good thing I've got a full bottle of vodka and a variety of mixers available because I'm going to need it."

And yet, here we are.

*****

It seems my tongue-in-cheek post on the Patriots as a team of destiny was far more prescient than humorous. After that post, the Broncos won their game against the Bills but lost starting QB Bo Nix. Just before kickoff against the Patriots, the Texans - already missing WR Nico Collins - lost starting OT Trent Brown as he was unable to go with an ankle injury. Then, in the first quarter, they lost TE Dalton Schultz. And Schultz wouldn't be the last Texan carried off on their shield on Sunday.

Now, I'm not going to discount what Sean Payton will draw up for The Stidhammer (as Jarrett Stidham was fondly referred to in my house during his brief tenure with the Patriots), but I can't dismiss the loss of Nix, either. This is huge for Denver. Their identity is defined by a defense that keeps them in every game and Nix's 4th Quarter heroics. It seems as much an injury to the Broncos' pigskin psyche as it is a physical blow. Still, it would be a huge mistake for the Patriots to underestimate the Broncos (not that I think Mike Vrabel will let that happen).

As far as the luck thing goes, I would note that it's usually a double-edged sword.

Assuming the Patriots win the AFC Championship, and the Seahawks win the NFC, and New England goes on to win SB 60 (yeah, a lot of ifs, I get that), they would have faced - and beaten - the three top scoring defenses in the NFL for 2025.

Now that, as a pigskin philosopher once said, would make a hell of a story.

Go Pats!