Patriots Defense Shines Amid Media Doubt In Playoff Upset

The New England Patriots are no strangers to being doubted, but this season, the skepticism reached a fever pitch. Heading into their divisional-round playoff matchup against the Houston Texans on January 18, 2026, few outside of Foxborough gave the Patriots much of a chance. Most analysts—especially the panel at ESPN’s “NFL Live”—picked the Texans to win, citing Houston’s ferocious defense and the perceived inexperience of rookie quarterback Drake Maye. Yet, when the snow settled at Gillette Stadium, it was the Patriots who stood victorious, posting a 28-16 win that sent shockwaves through the NFL and earned them a ticket to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2018.

How did New England pull off this upset? The answer, as has been the case throughout the 2025 season, was a relentless and opportunistic defense. The Patriots’ defensive unit, led by lineman Milton Williams, came into the game with a chip on their shoulder. “It definitely fueled the whole defense,” Williams told reporters after the win, referencing the lack of attention his group had received. “Nobody has been talking about our defense all year. We’ll see what they say today. Every week, we’re trying to come out and dominate, knowing that they do have a great defense, but in our minds, it was our defense versus their defense. See who could make more plays, create more turnovers, stop the run and get the ball back to our offense.” (ESPN’s Mike Reiss)

And dominate they did. In blizzard-like conditions, the Patriots’ defense made life miserable for Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was sacked multiple times and forced into four first-half interceptions. Stroud finished the night with a dismal 21.1 QBR, completing just 20 of 47 passes. Houston’s high-powered offense was held to a paltry 241 total yards, including only 48 on the ground, and coughed up five turnovers in total. The defensive onslaught was so thorough that even with the Patriots’ own offense struggling at times—Drake Maye was strip-sacked four times, with Houston recovering two—the Texans never truly threatened to take control.

Maye’s performance, while not perfect, was gutsy and effective against one of the league’s stingiest units. He threw three touchdown passes, including a crucial fourth-down strike to Demario Douglas and a perfectly placed ball to Stefon Diggs. Kayshon Boutte also contributed a big play, later using his Instagram story to troll ESPN analysts Mina Kimes, Ryan Clark, Hannah Storm, Dan Orlovsky, and Marcus Spears for unanimously picking the Texans to win. The Patriots’ social media team and fanbase joined in, reveling in the role of underdog-turned-giant-killer.

Yet, not everyone was willing to give New England their due. The day after the game, ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky doubled down on his skepticism, declaring on “Get Up”: “If you’re Houston, you win that game with 31 other quarterbacks.” The comment, which quickly went viral, was seen by many Patriots fans as a slight against their defense and the progress the team has made this season. Orlovsky expanded on his take, saying, “Bad quarterback play wins that game—bad quarterback play… I think Houston and Buffalo walk away from this weekend sick to their stomach because they look at all of the self-inflicted wounds.”

Orlovsky’s remarks drew swift and widespread criticism. Former linebacker Emmanuel Acho countered on “Speakeasy,” “Stroud was awful. 31 other quarterbacks ain’t winning that game, though. No Jets quarterback is winning that football game, period. No Commanders quarterback after Jayden Daniels got hurt is winning that game. No Raiders quarterback is winning that game.” Patriots supporters and even some neutral observers pointed out that other elite quarterbacks—Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, and Patrick Mahomes among them—had failed to put up similar numbers against Houston’s vaunted defense during the regular season. In fact, New England became only the second team all year to score 28 or more points against the Texans, and they did it under adverse weather conditions.

The Patriots’ defense, for its part, has been one of the NFL’s most formidable all season. Entering the playoffs, they ranked third in points allowed per game (17.8) and have only tightened up further during the postseason, surrendering just 9.5 points per contest through two games. Their ability to create turnovers and stifle the run has been a cornerstone of their resurgence, especially after years spent in the shadow of the Buffalo Bills and the post-Tom Brady era malaise. This season, the Patriots defied preseason expectations by not only returning to the playoffs but also winning the AFC East and snagging the No. 2 seed in the conference—a feat few predicted back in September.

Inside the locker room, the perceived disrespect has become a rallying cry. Stefon Diggs, who added a touchdown and vital leadership throughout the campaign, said after the game, “It’s a good thing. Hopefully they do that again next week because that’s another good defense that we’re able to go see. I feel like I spoke on it not too long ago, we’re playing with a chip on our shoulder. I think we’re one of those teams that kind of plays better with a chip on our shoulder when everybody is kind of counting us out.”

Indeed, the Patriots have embraced their underdog identity this postseason, using every slight—real or perceived—as fuel. The social media trolling of ESPN and the viral debates sparked by Orlovsky’s commentary have only added to the sense that this team is out to prove something, not just to their doubters but to themselves. The unity and resilience that have defined the Patriots’ journey this season were on full display against the Texans, and the defense’s ability to rise to the occasion when it mattered most has become the defining narrative of their playoff run.

With the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos looming on January 25, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET, the Patriots are just one win away from an improbable trip to Super Bowl LX. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but if recent weeks have shown anything, it’s that this New England team thrives when the odds are stacked against them. As the national conversation continues to swirl—fueled by hot takes, viral clips, and a passionate fanbase—the Patriots remain focused on the task at hand: proving, once again, that sometimes the best way to silence the critics is to let the results speak for themselves.

The road ahead won’t be easy, but with their defense playing at a championship level and the team united by a shared sense of purpose, the Patriots are poised to keep defying expectations. The noise isn’t going away, but in Foxborough, that’s just the way they like it.