The road back from 0-3 and 3-5 was an uphill climb that resulted in a ninth postseason bid and a chance to do some serious damage in the playoffs.

The Texans fought and scratched and clawed their way to New England to get an opportunity to advance to the AFC Championship game for the first time ever.

But it was the Patriots who made the big plays and the Texans who made too many errors on their way to a 28-16 defeat. Five turnovers and too many stalled drives stymied an effort to win another road playoff game and break through to the NFL's final four.

The defense turned the Patriots over three times and it could have been more had New England not opportunistically fallen on a couple of fumbles.

Will Anderson Jr. and Danille Hunter were electric, racking up three and two sacks respectively. Yet the Patriots came up with the game-changing plays when needed, sending the Texans into the offseason.

Now we'll get plenty of questions about what's next for the offense, what happens with the soon-to-be free agents and how to get back to this moment.

This was a great run. Ten wins in a row, a first-ever road playoff win and countless unforgettable moments that gave us so many exhilarating Sundays.

For now though, it hurts. And you can bet DeMeco Ryans and this organization will do everything they can to take this team to another level.

Thanks to everyone for reading, watching, listening and being a part of a campaign we'll never forget. We'll be covering everything this off season as we load up for another run.