Robert Kraft certainly has no regrets over hiring Mike Vrabel to coach the New England Patriots.

Vrabel vastly transformed the franchise’s fortunes in his first season, leading New England to a 14-3 record after consecutive 4-13 seasons under Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo. The Patriots will pursue their seventh Super Bowl title when they host the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.

Kraft celebrated Vrabel’s success before the playoff matchup on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

“Think what our record was last year, and it’s reversed this year,” Kraft said. “He has grown and matured in a way — he...

The New England Patriots are on to the divisional round as they welcome the Houston Texans to Gillette Stadium with a trip to the AFC Championship Game on the line.

After getting by the Chargers in the wild card round, Drake Maye and the Patriots offense will be tested again with a top ranked Texans defense that New England coaches and players have said is the best unit they’ll face all season. Meanwhile, the Patriots defense will look to build off their performance last week by slowing down C.J. Stroud.

Follow along live from Gillette Stadium throughout Sunday.

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With playoff football on the way, the New England Patriots are rounding into form. After already enjoying improved player availability last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, they now have all available hands on deck for their divisional round bout with the Houston Texans.

This means Khyiris Tonga returning from a three-game absence, Harold Landry being in despite carrying the questionable tag into the weekend, and Christian Gonzalez being full-go after starting the week in concussion protocol. All three will play major roles on Sunday, with Landry the biggest question mark after not practicing fully during the week and sitting...

The New England Patriots may have a clearer path to the Super Bowl after Bo Nix broke his ankle at the end of Saturday’s Denver Broncos win over the Buffalo Bills. However, a former NFL defensive star gave the Patriots an ominous reminder.

New England could face a Broncos squad led by Jarrett Stidham for the AFC title if Mike Vrabel’s team defeats the Houston Texans on Sunday. Yet the Patriots know better than most teams not to count out a second-string quarterback.

Gerald McCoy brought up an unpleasant memory Sunday on NFL Network’s “NFL GameDay” when noting that Nick...

Stopping the run will be crucial to the New England Patriots’ defensive strategy against the Houston Texans in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday, and they will have a key piece available. Khyiris Tonga, who missed the previous three games with a foot injury, is officially back on the game day roster.

The 29-year-old nose tackle was not announced among the team’s inactives 90 minutes before kickoff. Tonga started the week as a limited practice participant but graduated to full participation on Thursday and Friday before ultimately getting taken off the injury report entirely.

Despite not carrying...

The New England Patriots are in good shape for their divisional round matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Christian Gonzalez (concussion), Harold Landry III (knee) and Khyiris Tonga (foot) will all be available for the contest at Gillette Stadium, with all three being made available despite spending time on the injury report this week.

Bradyn Swinson, C.J. Dippre, Marcus Bryant, Caedan Wallace, Eric Gregory, Kobee Minor and Tommy DeVito are the only inactives, and all healthy scratches.

The Texans will be without star wide receiver Nico Collins (concussion), who was carted off the field during their wild-card victory over...

The New England Patriots should be all over looking for a veteran wide receiver to upgrade the receiving core this offseason, and there is a chance they could land Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens.

Pickens is set to become a free agent, but the Cowboys might use the franchise tag on him, which would mean the Patriots would need to trade for his rights. Given that New England has plenty of draft capital and salary cap room, K.D. Drummond from Cowboys Wire speculated that Dallas could trade Pickens to the Patriots in exchange for their first, second and fourth-round...

One of Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills teammates wouldn’t let him shoulder the blame after Saturday’s gutting playoff loss.

The Bills ended their seventh consecutive postseason appearance short of the Super Bowl when falling 33-30 to the Denver Broncos in overtime. After the game, an emotional Allen said he let his teammates down.

Brandin Cooks quickly shot down that thought when asked about his quarterback’s comments, via Syracuse.com’s Matt Parrino.

“No. At the end of the day, he’s been carrying us all year,” Cooks said. “And the way I think about it is, somebody step up to be able to alleviate...

The Buffalo Bills’ season ended on Saturday after a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots will play their Divisional Round game on Sunday.

The Bills have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but have not been able to get over the hump with Josh Allen. One of their biggest flaws as a team is that they lack a true No. 1 receiver. That is one of the reasons they failed to win the division over the Patriots.

Their leading receiver this season was Khalil Shakir, who had 719 yards...

ESPN Analytics foreshadows a razor-close AFC Divisional Round matchup between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.

The Patriots enter Sunday’s playoff game with the narrowest of edges. ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives New England a 50.9 percent win probability.

Oddsmakers also don’t see much of a gap between the Patriots and Texans. Most sportsbooks peg the Patriots as a three-point favorite at Gillette Stadium, and the home team typically garners an automatic three-point edge.

Despite the perceived close nature of Sunday’s matchup, five ESPN panelists unanimously picked a Texans victory on Friday’s “NFL Live.” They were all stunned by the...

The New England Patriots will face the Houston Texans on Sunday, aiming to advance to the AFC Championship Game. Meanwhile, one of their division rivals, the Miami Dolphins, is closing in on a new head coach.

Surely, the Dolphins would rather be in the Patriots’ position right now. However, after seeing what Mike Vrabel has done in year one with the Patriots, the Dolphins will want to nail their coaching hire. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Jeff Hafley has “emerged as a frontrunner for the Dolphins head coaching job.”

Hafley has never served as a head coach in the...

A former head coach and Super Bowl-winning player raised concerns about Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud before Sunday’s second-round game against the New England Patriots.

Despite personally knowing Stroud since middle school, Antonio Pierce questioned whether the 24-year-old can lead the Texans to a championship. Pierce, a vital part of the New York Giants squad that ended New England’s perfect season in Super Bowl XLII, raised his doubts Saturday on CBS Sports’ “The NFL Today.”

“I love him. Coached him when he was in eighth grade, known him since he was a young pup,” Pierce said. “C.J. Stroud, I just...