Patriots' Drake Maye struggled versus Texans, but came up with clutch throw to Kayshon Boutte

For the second straight week, it wasn't always pretty for Drake Maye. But when the Patriots needed their quarterback the most, he was able to deliver.

New England defeated the Houston Texans, 28-16, in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday. Now they'll play in the AFC Championship Game in Denver next week.

Maye was 16 for 27 on Sunday for 179 yards and three touchdowns. But it was a grind for the second-year quarterback against the vaunted Texans defense.

The quarterback fumbled four times, losing two of them, and threw an interception.

Kayshon Boutte touchdown pass

But with the Patriots clinging to a 5-point lead late in the game, Maye came up big. He and the Patriots put together a 6-play, 71-yard drive in less than four minutes. It culminated when Maye lofted a perfectly thrown ball to the end zone on third down.

On the other end was Kayshon Boutte, who sprawled to catch the pass. Boutte hauled it in using one hand.

Boutte was the team's leading receiver in the game. He had three catches for 75 yards and the highlight touchdown. Maye praised his wide receiver after the game.

"He keeps on making plays, making me look good. I'm proud to be able to give him some throws to make a play on it. A one-handed catch, not much else to say about it. It was pretty sweet. Kind of the same type of throw as my first one to him. And he made an even better catch this time," Maye said. "Props to Kayshon for keep on playing. He was huge for us tonight. That receiver room just keeps on doing good things. Good job in the running game. I think I could have more chances downfield and make better throws. But you can't be too hard on myself and move on to the next one."

Drake Maye reacts to win over Texans

The Patriots quarterback was asked what was going through his mind late in the game.

"There's ups and downs with the game. Our mentality on offense is go down and score. There's no mentality. When it becomes a two-possession game late in the fourth quarter it kind of becomes a different deal," Maye said. "It was pretty sweet, just the fans, the stadium, the atmosphere, it was pretty cool. There at the end, when we were in the victory formation, that's always the stuff I remember."

Head coach Mike Vrabel talked about Maye's ability to make a play for the team in a key spot, despite his struggles.

"We talk about not going in the blender. And I think it's hard. They put pressure on us, and we know we've got to take care of the ball. Drake knows that," Vrabel said. "But to be able to stay the course and to trust Kayshon and give him a great ball that was him or nobody, and those guys have kind of done that all year -- when we needed a play, they've been able to do that for us."

"It's going to keep on getting tougher"

Maye was asked how much tougher this game was than his first postseason contest, and how much tougher he expects next week to be.

"It's going to keep on getting tougher. We keep on playing great defenses with great quarterbacks and teams that deserve to be here. That's what we feel like we deserve to be here, and we've got times where we know we'll have to be at our best in critical moments," Maye said. "It comes down -- it's going to come down to the end and come down to making plays when you have them. I've just got to keep on giving our guys chances to make plays. I like our chances with those guys in the locker room. It's fun to be with those guys, fun to show up here and just glad the season keeps on going. Hopefully it goes for a good while longer."

• Los Angeles Chargers
• New England Patriots
• NFL Playoffs