Shane Vereen, Tom Brady carry Patriots to AFC Championship game

It was a game that was closer than the Monday Night blowout earlier in the year, but it still wasn't as close as it looks. With hat tricks from both Shane Vereen and Tom Brady (both had 3 TDs) the Patriots defeated the Houston Texans 41-28.

The Patriots were up 38-13 in the fourth quarter before the Texans were able to pull within ten. The Patriots recovered an onside kick and were able to take 3:57 off the clock, kick a field goal and give Houston the ball back with 1:14 left in the game.

J.J. Watt didn't have as much of an impact once again. He had a half a sack, four tackles and one hit on Tom Brady.

The Patriots had some major injuries in this game. Rob Gronkowski is out for the year after re-injuring his forearm (More on that here). Chandler Jones exited the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and did not return. He injured an ankle earlier in the year and missed two weeks. Danny Woodhead was also injured early in the game and never returned.

It was a huge victory and the Patriots will now host the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens, for the second straight year. The Patriots won last year after Billy Cundiff missed a chip shot field goal to send the game into overtime.