Patriots to host Texans in Divisional Round matchup. Here’s what time they will kick off

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Houston Texans punched their ticket to the divisional round Monday night, where they will meet a young New England Patriots team looking for a second straight playoff victory at home.

The Texans and Patriots will kick off on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Gillette Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN.

Sunday’s game will be the third meeting in the postseason between the two clubs. Tom Brady threw for 287 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the January 2017 showdown that punched the Patriots’ tickets to their 6th straight AFC Championship Game appearance.

The Patriots and Texans have not played each other since last October in what was their only meeting since 2021.

Houston has a case for the league’s best defense, ranking No. 1 in yards allowed per game, No. 1 in EPA/play, No. 2 in points allowed per game, No. 6 in opponents’ time to throw, No. 8 in sack percentage and No. 3 in opponent completion percentage during the regular season.

New England’s defense was playoff-ready last Sunday, putting pressure on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert in the 16-3 Wild Card victory. The Chargers, who led the NFL this season with 115 third-down conversions, went 1 of 10 on third down.

B Christian Gonzalez was not allowed to re-enter the game after leaving with a head injury and has since been placed in the concussion protocol.

“Wherever that goes, that goes,” Vrabel said. “Hopefully, we’ll get him back.”

The full divisional round schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 17

4:30 p.m. Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos (CBS, Paramount+)

8:00 p.m. San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (FOX)

Sunday, Jan. 18

3:00 p.m. Houston Texans at New England Patriots (ESPN/ABC)

6:30 p.m. Los Angeles Rams at Chicago Bears (NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, Universo)

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