But they still couldn’t beat the New England Patriots.

This game was New England’s the entire time.  Houston could not keep pace with the dynamic Pats defense or with the high powered Pats offense.  This game went well beyond having the more talented players.  The Texans were simply out-coached.  Foster was unable to get anything going on the ground until it was too late, and by the defense had been unable to make this game necessitate the pass.  Tom Brady and company were just too much for the AFC South’s top seeded team.  While there as some question early in the season as to whether the Patriots were the same Patriots we have seen in years past, I think now the definitive answer is yes.

And they are in a class of their own.

It will be curious to see if the Pats will be able to stop the Baltimore Ravens again.  Last year’s AFC Championship should have gone to the bumbling Ravens, but a drop in the endzone and a missed field goal made sure that the Patriots made yet another trip to the Super Bowl.

Eventually an AFC South team will make it there as well.  Just not this year.

Final Score: 41-28 Patriots

- Luke N. Sims

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Foster was instrumental in getting things done again for the Texans.  Source:  Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Wildcard weekend for the second year in a row.  The Bengals were never able to get the ball moving, with Andy Dalton completing a mere four of ten passes for three yards in the first half.  Dalton ended up finishing with a more respectable (though certainly not playoff caliber) 14 of 30 for 127 yards and pick.  The Bengals simply could not move the ball against the Texans defense.  The Texans were able to do what they wanted and managed an interception to go with sacks from J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed.

The Texans offense was clicking as well.  Matt Schaub, starting for the first time in the postseason, finished with a decent 29 of 38 for 262 yards and an interception.  The interception was returned for a touchdown, which brought the game much closer than it should have been.  Arian Foster was the primary reason the Texans were able to hang on and win.  While kicking four field goals, the Texans needed clock management on their side.  Foster delivered with a 140 yard performance on 32 carries with the lone offensive touchdown of the game.

The Texans finished the day with a 19 to 13 home playoff victory.

The Indianapolis Colts struggled much more than their AFC South counterpart in their improbable playoff appearance.  While being bounced from the postseason by the Baltimore Ravens is tough, it would have been a ridiculous improbability for the team to continue to beat the odds.  Despite a decent showing from Andrew Luck (much more decent than Andy Dalton!) of 28/54 for 288 and pick, the Colts were not able to keep pace with the Ravens as Baltimore consistently found ways to exploit the Colts defense.  Despite the game being 10-6 at halftime, the Ravens were able to limit the Colts to only one more field goal while marching down the field for two more 70+ yard touchdown drives.

The Colts offense did not click as well as it could have.  Luck was not as strong as he had been during the regular season and the game plan was pass heavy despite 91 yards on the ground from Vick Ballard.  Reggie Wayne’s nine receptions for 114 yards was not enough of a balance to Anquan Boldin’s 145 yards on five grabs and the time management offense of the Colts simply did not produce enough points to compete against the more explosive Ravens.  The Ravens were able to eat up more yardage on the ground (175) than the Colts (151) with only two more carries in the game.

The Colts finished the day losing 9-24.

With two teams representing the AFC South again in the playoffs, it’s nice to see at least the division champion continuing to play.

- Luke N. Sims

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Entering this game the Texans and Jaguars both leaned toward the running game on offense.  Everything changed on Sunday.

Arian Foster had all of 77 yards on 28 carries (2.75 average), Rashad Jennings had zero yards on his three attempts, Jalen Parmele had a better-than expected game with 80 yards on 24 carries (3.3 average) and Justin Forsett looked much better than everyone else with 59 yards on seven carries (8.4 average and a 30 yarder).  The Texans actually tied their 136 rushing per game average.  It was all overshadowed by the passing attack.

Neither team scored on the ground and the combined 216 rushing yards wasn’t even enough to equal Justin Blackmon’s 236 on the day.

Balance can only go so far in the NFL.  This game proved it.  The rushing game was completely overlooked on Sunday after it proved to be the difference maker the week before for the Texans.  Rather than the tight-defense, ball control, rushing, traditional attack on which both teams are based, the Texans and Jaguars turned to the shootout.  It’s a trend that is becoming all too familiar.  Rather than seek balance, just seek to outscore.

Today the more traditional AFC South proved that they could do it.

- Luke N. Sims

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