Texans can't measure up to Pats

The best record in the AFC will mean little to the Houston Texans if they can't beat the defending conference champion.

The Texans lost for the second time this season on Monday night when the New England Patriots coasted to a 42-14 win in a matchup of the two top teams in the AFC. Tom Brady threw for four touchdowns as the Patriots (10-3) opened a 28-0 lead and ended Houston's (11-2) six-game winning streak.

"That's what it takes to get to where they've been for a long time," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said.

"That's why they're where they're at: They've been making those plays. We've been making them a lot but we didn't tonight."

Matt Schaub completed 19 of 32 passes for 232 yards and was pulled in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. He also threw an interception in the end zone when the Texans were only down by a touchdown; six plays later, the Patriots had gone 82 yards to make it 14-0.

New England started its next possession with a 31-yard punt return and marched the rest of the way in seven plays.

"We got our tails kicked," Kubiak said.

"When you've got an opportunity to make a big play, you can't miss it against a team of this magnitude. We turned around and it was 21-0 pretty quick."

The Patriots reached the Super Bowl last year for the fifth time in 11 seasons, and they have already clinched this year's AFC East title. With their seventh straight victory, they moved one game behind the Texans for the conference's top seed.

"It's a Monday night game," Brady said. "We have played in a lot of big games in December."

A matchup of the top two scoring teams in the league was a mismatch from the outset. It took New England only one possession to start its scoring barrage as the Patriots surpassed their average of 35.8 points per game.

"It needs to come together now - this is the perfect time for it," said Brady, who became a father for the third time last Wednesday when his wife, Gisele, gave birth to his first daughter, Vivian Lake.

"She is doing very well," Brady said. "It's been a great week, a great way to end it."

(China Daily 12/12/2012 page22)