The Patriots had a near disaster on third down, holding a 7-3 lead.

Drake Maye was trying to uncork a pass, and defensive end Danielle Hunter knocked it loose. It appeared the Texans were about to pounce on the ball and give their offense a prime scoring chance inside the 10-yard line.

Instead, the ball rolled around and Will Campbell eventually recovered the fumble for New England. The Patriots had to punt, giving the Texans the football near midfield.

The Patriots had a chance to seize momentum on defense after taking a 7-0 lead, but on third down the Texans offense found a massive play.

C.J. Stroud felt pressure, but instead of running he found a wide open Dalton Schultz, who ran for 42 two yards down to the Patriots 27-yard line. Houston had another third-down play a short time later, and once again converted. Christian Kirk snagged a pass to move the chains, and a facemask set up first and goal for the Texans.

It appeared Houston converted another third down on the drive, this time for a score as Woody Marks ran in for a touchdown on third and goal from the two. But there was an illegal shift, moving the Texans back. Houston had to settled for a chip shot field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn, cutting the New England lead to 7-3 with 5:26 left in the first quarter.

After stopping Houston and forcing a punt, the Patriots took over in their own territory. 

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson ran for 20 yards, then took a screen pass nine yards for a first down.

On third down and 13 yards to go, Drake Maye hit Diggs on a crossing route to set up a critical 4th and 1.

Mike Vrabel left his offense on the field at the Houston 28-yard line. The offense made the decision pay off.

Maye found DeMario "Pop" Douglas on a short pass, and Douglas ran it in for a 28-yard score. Andy Borregales hit the extra point to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead with 9:35 left in the opening quarter.

It looked like Houston had an easy first down completion with C.J. Stroud finding an open Christian Kirk.

Instead, Kirk dropped the pass and it was nearly intercepted.

The Texans punted and New England took over on its own 29-yard line.

The first play of the game was a handoff to Rhamondre Stevenson for no gain, followed by an incomplete pass to Hunter Henry.

Drake Maye hit Stefon Diggs for five yards, and the Patriots were forced to punt without gaining a first down.

The AFC divisional round playoff game at Gillette Stadium is officially underway.

Houston won the coin toss and deferred, giving the Patriots the ball to start the game.

Fresh off having his No. 33 jersey raised to the rafters, Bruins legend Zdeno Chara is at Gillette Stadium for some postseason action.

The Patriots shared a video of Chara at field level before the game.

With a buzz inside Gillette Stadium, the Patriots took the field as the minutes tick down to kickoff.

New England players ran out of the tunnel with "Crazy Train" by Black Sabbath blaring. 

The NFL on ESPN crew made their picks as pregame coverage began to wind down Sunday afternoon.

To the surprise of no one, Patriots legends Randy Moss and Tedy Bruschi picked the Patriots, as did Alex Smith. 

Former Patriots nemesis Rex Ryan, who was previously head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, was greeted by boos outside of Gillette Stadium as he picked Houston to win, 21-17. Also picking Houston was Mike Greenberg by a 20-16 margin.

Actor Zac Efron is among those in attendance for the game.

The Patriots shared a photo of Efron with owner Robert Kraft, posing while wearing a Super Bowl ring.

With snow falling, the Patriots are on the field for warmups.

Quarterback Drake Maye had a simple message for his teammates earlier, telling them on the field "Just be us."

A family of Patriots fans has one outlier - a young Texans fan.

Four young siblings in Medway, Massachusetts root for the Patriots every week. But their brother is a loud and proud Texans fans.

WBZ-TV's Logan Hall spoke to the family about how they're feeling heading into the game.

Earlier in the week when it came time to reveal their picks, all of the NFL Live crew on ESPN picked Houston.

In a clip that went viral, all five panel members appeared uneasy to learn they'd all gone with the Texans, wondering if that was a sign of an impending Patriots win.

There were no surprises in the inactive list provided by the Patriots, but there was a bit of good news that became official. 

Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga returns to the lineup for the Patriots after missing several weeks. 

In addition, cornerback Christian Gonzalez is active. He was evaluated for a concussion after the Chargers game but cleared protocol and practiced in full during the week. 

There are a pair of key inactives for the Texans.

Wide receiver Nico Collins, who was previously ruled out with a concussion, will miss the game. 

In a bit of a surprise, right tackle Trent Brown is inactive as well.

Also out for the game are quarterback Graham Mertz, running back Jawhar Jordan, cornerback Alijah Huzzie, and wide receiver Justin Watson.

It's been a difficult storm to forecast, but some snow is expected during the game.

According to the WBZ-TV weather team, flakes will be coming down during the game, with more snow expected later in the game and while fans are driving home.

A few inches of snow are expected to be on the ground by the time the game is over. 

Whichever team wins on Sunday already knows their fate for next week.

The Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills played the first AFC divisional round game on Saturday, and it was a thriller.

Despite Bo Nix suffering a season-ending injury in overtime, Denver advanced with a 33-30 win. 

As a result, the winner of today's game in Foxboro will play the Broncos in Denver next Sunday with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback in place of the injured Nix.

Former Patriots cornerback Ty Law announced last week on WEEI that he will be this week's "Keeper of the Light."

Before each home game, a noteworthy figure rings the bell atop the Gillette Stadium lighthouse in order to get the crowd fired up.

Last week, it was Patriots Hall of Fame defensive tackle Vince Wilfork who rang the bell before the Chargers game.

The Patriots game is a Monday Night Football crew, despite the game taking place on Sunday afternoon. 

Nationally, the game will air on ESPN, while in Massachusetts, the Patriots-Texans game will be broadcast on WCVB-TV in addition to ESPN. There are also streaming options as well.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will have play-by-play and color commentary for the game. Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge will have sideline reporting duties.