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The Texans failed to recover Stevan Ridley's goal-line fumble and Tom Brady made them pay on the next play. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Recipe for a disaster …

Five plays. Just five plays, out of 135 — on a dreadful Monday night in the Boston suburbs. Take away five plays, or simply rescript them, and the Texans would have stayed in a game they got blown out of 42-14 by the New England Patriots, a humbling experience from which they still haven’t fully recovered.

1. The scenario: Patriots’ ball on their first series of the game. 4:40 elapsed. First-and-goal at the Texans’ 4-yard line. Stevan Ridley plowed into the middle, where Earl Mitchell was waiting. The Texans’ nose tackle pawed the football from Ridley’s hands, and it skittered off to the left. Cornerback Kareem Jackson was well-positioned to make the recovery, but perhaps he tried to do too much or simply didn’t focus. Whatever happened, Jackson couldn’t secure possession, and the Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez pounced, thwarting what would have been a crucial Texans takeaway.
The upshot: On the next play, Tom Brady threw a 7-yard TD pass to Hernandez. Patriots 7-0.

2. The scenario: Texans’ ball. 9:19 elapsed in the first quarter. Second-and-8 at the Patriots’ 21. Matt Schaub looked for Kevin Walter over the middle a yard deep in the end zone, but the ball was slightly underthrown, and New England corner Devin McCourty got there first for the interception.
The upshot: Taking over at his 18, Brady needed only six plays to go 82 yards, finishing with a 37-yard TD pass to Brandon Lloyd. Patriots 14-0.

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The Texans were embarrassed by the Patriots on Monday, Oct. 8, losing by a score of 42-14. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

When a team is not ready to play, it makes the kind of mistakes — mental and physical — the Texans made in their 42-14 prime-time debacle at New England last month.

This time, the Texans need to leave their mistakes at home. There’s no room for jitters. The divisional round of the NFL playoffs isn’t for players whose knees knock. It’s for slobber-knockers.

If the Texans don’t want to be embarrassed again on a national stage, they must go to New England better prepared to play. It was apparent from the start, for whatever reason, that the regular-season game against the Patriots on Dec. 10 was too big for them.

The Texans are coming off a 19-13 victory over Cincinnati in the wild-card round. They are 13-4 with a playoff victory for the second consecutive season. Now they must do what few outside their dressing room at Reliant Stadium believe they can do — upset the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

“Obviously, we were disappointed in how we played,” outside linebacker Connor Barwin said about the first New England game. “The difference is there’s a lot more on the line this time.

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As the “Keep Hope Alive” crowd will tell you this week, and as I reminded on a #keephopealive hashtag run of tweets last week, the last two times New England faced a team it met in the playoffs that it had beaten at home in the regular season, it lost.

In 2009, the Patriots beat the Ravens 27-21 in an early-October game, but were crushed by Baltimore 33-14 in a wild-card game.

In 2010, New England crushed the Jets 45-3 in the first week of December in an Monday Night Football game that was one of the most anticipated matchups of the season – both teams were 9-2. At halftime of the romp the Patriots honored three-time Super Bowl champ Tedy Bruschi, who had just retired, and a grand time was had by all.

Well, early last December, at halftime of a Monday Night Football Game that was one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, with the Texans at 11-1 and the Patriots 9-3, the Patriots honored three-time Super Bowl champ Matt Light, who just retired. New England rolled 42-14 and a grand time was had by all.

In the 2010 playoffs the Jets opened at 9 ½-point underdogs, but won the divisional round game 28-21.

The Texans opened as 9 ½-point dogs last night, though a Vegas buddy tells me, apparently, you could get the Patriots at minus-10 at one book right after the Bengals game. (It’s down to 8 1/2 at the Las Vegas Hilton.)

Will history repeat itself?

May man Dan Shaughnessy, a former colleague at the Boston Globe, thinks not.

From his column today:

“The 2012-13 New England Patriots just became the first team in NFL history to get back-to-back byes before advancing to the conference championship game. Could this get any easier?”

“I mean, seriously? The planets are aligned and the tomato cans are in place. The fraudulent Houston Texans are the only team standing between the New England Patriots and a trip to the AFC Championship game. All the Patriots have to do is beat the terrible Texans. One week from today. At Gillette Stadium.”

“Pass Go and collect $200. The Patriots are in the AFC title game.”

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Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison is drawing interest to fill the head coaching vacancy for the Chicago Bears. (Brett Coomer /Houston Chronicle)

The Texans granted the Chicago Bears permission to interview offensive coordinator Rick Dennison as a possible replacement for fired coach Lovie Smith.

When Dennison was Denver’s offensive coordinator, he coached Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and receiver Brandon Marshall.

One day after the Texans beat Cincinnati 19-13 in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Dennison said he’s focused on the divisional-round game at New England rather than interviewing for a head coaching job.

Dennison said general manager Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak told him Chicago asked for permission to interview him and it was granted, but he said he has not heard from the Bears.

“The Bears have a great organization, and I know several members of their staff, as well as Jay and Brandon,” Dennison said. “I haven’t talked to (the Bears). I don’t know what’s going on. I’m focused on getting ready for (New England).

“If something happens, it can’t interfere with my work. I’m not going up there, because it would be too disruptive to our work week.”

Dennison wants to be a head coach in the NFL.

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No player on the field was under more pressure to win Saturday’s wild-card game than Texans quarterback Matt Schaub.

Schaub and coach Gary Kubiak were the primary targets for criticism after the Texans failed to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by blowing the Minnesota and Indianapolis games.

A victory over Cincinnati was imperative. Imagine the criticism if the Texans lost at home to the Bengals and went into the offseason with four losses in five games.

Schaub didn’t play well down the stretch, throwing only one touchdown pass in the last four games and being unable to prevent the Texans from a 1-3 skid that left them crawling into the playoffs.

The Texans were desperate for a victory at Reliant Stadium, and they delivered, eliminating Cincinnati 19-13 before a record crowd of 71,738. Now they travel to New England, where they were beaten 42-14 on Dec. 10.

In his first playoff appearance, Schaub didn’t light it up, but he played an instrumental role in the Texans’ second playoff victory in two years. He gave a workmanlike performance, completing 29 of 38 attempts for 262 yards.

“It’s a team game, and I lean on my teammates,” Schaub said. “They had faith in me, trusted in me, and I tried to deliver the ball to the places it was supposed to go and let them make plays. It was a total team effort.”

Schaub outplayed Andy Dalton, the Katy native who was 14-of-30 for 127 yards.

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Once bodies began flying, cleats tore up grass and the Texans went to work, Brian Cushing was fine.

But while the national anthem rang out Saturday inside Reliant Stadium and a crowd that swelled to a franchise-record 71,738 settled in to watch the Texans face the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC wild-card playoff game, the injured Texans linebacker barely could watch.

Cushing felt tight. The moment felt wrong. Bittersweet. A little painful.

The Texans were kicking off another potential Super Bowl run. Their captain was stuck on the sideline, inactive and useless, relegated to a cheerleading role.

Tough at outset
“You definitely want to be out there,” said Cushing, who tore his left ACL on Oct. 8 during the Texans’ 23-17 Week 5 win over the New York Jets.

“The opening kickoff’s always tough and then they play the national anthem,” Cushing said. “After that, you just turn into a fan and you cheer the guys on the best that you can.”

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Foster credits Kubiak after win
If running back Arian Foster was the person who passed out game balls and not coach Gary Kubiak, he would give one to Kubiak.

Foster said Kubiak delivered a speech on Friday night that carried the Texans through their 19-13 wild-card win over the Bengals on Saturday.

“Anytime that he has pregame speeches, he doesn’t try to ‘rah-rah.’ He’s not a ‘rah-rah’ guy, he just tells it like it is,” Foster said. “Last night, that’s what he did.

“He said we’ve been battle tested, and we have. We’ve had a tough road this year, but he’s been around this game a long time and he has a lot of faith in his players right now.

“A coach like that makes you want to play for him. I think that’s powerful when you have players on a team that actually want to play for their coach.”

Foster said his respect for Kubiak continues to grow.

Kubiak certainly respects his team, considering their rebound from a 1-3 stretch to finish the regular season.

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In three postseason appearances, Texans running back Arian Foster has been quite productive. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

Fittingly, it was Arian Foster who finished off the Cincinnati Bengals.

With a 10-yard scamper that secured a first down after the two-minute warning, Foster ensured Cincinnati would not get another chance at the end of a game he dominated.

“That last run he made for first down, I told him I was about to go out there and kiss him,” Texans owner Bob McNair said.

“I don’t think he would have gotten that far, man,” Foster said. “Don’t get me wrong, Bob’s a good guy. I don’t want a kiss from Bob, though. A nice little hug would do.”

It was his vision and his patience, combined with his athleticism and power that helped Foster to 140 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries Saturday afternoon at Reliant Stadium. Behind an offensive line playing better than it had in more than a month, Foster dominated the Bengals in the Texans’ first-round playoff game.

No shying away from pressure
“That’s what you grow up wanting,” Foster said. “You want the ball in your hands when the game is on the line, and tonight the game was on the line. This organization, this coaching staff, this team trusted me to put it in my hands. Any time you have that on your shoulders, I mean that’s what I work for, that’s what every guy works for.”

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Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph had a timely interception in the third quarter. (Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle)

If any Bengal was going to beat the Texans on Saturday, A.J. Green figured to be the man.

Quarterback Andy Dalton’s security blanket, Green had cradled more touchdown catches this season (11) among his 97 receptions than all except two receivers in the NFL. But the Texans’ ball-hogging offense and their shut-down cornerback, Johnathan Joseph, conspired to keep the gifted young receiver out of the end zone in the 19-13 wild-card round victory at Reliant Stadium.

Green was shut out in the first half. Dalton hardly looked his way. Of course, Dalton only had the football in his hands for a shade over seven minutes.

“They didn’t have time to get the ball to him,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “That’s the biggest thing. If you hold the ball like (we did), you’re just not getting any snaps.”

A close call
But Green, perhaps inevitably, did put a big-time scare in the Texans late.

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The Texans kept Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton under duress. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

By Angel Verdejo Jr.

Two sentences from Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton essentially summarized what happened to his team Saturday at Reliant Stadium.

“We have to find a way to make one more play, make one more first down and do the little things that are going to help you win football games,” said the second-year quarterback and Katy product. “It means more now being in the playoffs, and we didn’t get that done.”

As much as Cincinnati struggled against the Texans, one play could have turned the fortunes for a franchise without a playoff win in 22 years despite three appearances in the past four seasons.

The Bengals, after falling 31-10 to the Texans in the wild-card round last year, lost 19-13 on Saturday.

“It’s tough either way, whether we lose by 40 or lose by three,” said cornerback Leon Hall, whose interception return was Cincinnati’s only touchdown. “It hurts, especially in the playoffs.”

Double trouble
The Bengals were outgained 420-198 and nearly doubled up in time of possession. But the most glaring number was the offense’s 0-for-9 showing on third down.

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Texans' tight end Owen Daniels had nine receptions against the Bengals on Saturday. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)

The Texans played grind-it-out, wear-’em-down, beat-’em-up football Saturday afternoon. In short, it was a tight end’s kind of day.

Owen Daniels had a team-high nine catches for 91 yards, his best statistical performance of the season, and compatriots Garrett Graham and James Casey contributed four catches for 49 yards. Together, the Texans’ tight ends accounted for 13 of Matt Schaub’s 29 completions and 140 of the team’s 262 passing yards.

And they paid the price. Daniels briefly left in the third quarter after suffering a stinger to his left shoulder, and Graham was evaluated by team physicians after taking a hit from Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict on a 7-yard catch late in the game that drew a flag and helped the Texans to run out the clock on a 19-13 win. Daniels said it was the sort of game he expected from the Bengals.

Slugging it out works
“It was one of those games where we knew we were going to be running it, trying to stay balanced,” Daniels said. “We were grinding it out, throwing punches back and forth until the very last minute.”

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Running back Arian Foster and the Texans will make a return visit to Gillette Stadium to play the Patriots again. (Brett Coomer/ Houston Chronicle)

Arian Foster might watch the game tape. If he does, the Texans running back will only skim through the film, looking for the few images he can mentally store away and quickly learn from.

The rest of the Texans’ embarrassing 42-14 road blowout loss to New England on Dec. 10 is immediately going back in the trash where it belongs.

“I don’t know how much I’m going to look at that, man, honestly,” said Foster, following the Texans’ 19-13 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday in an AFC wild-card playoff game. “(The Patriots) are a good team. We’re a good team. I’ll glance at it. But I’m not going to sit there and burn a candle and watch it.”

The Texans were torched in Foxboro, Mass. The Texans’ nationally televised letdown marked one of the lowest points of the team’s once-glorious season.

Media members immediately labeled the Texans an NFL fraud. Foster’s team hasn’t been the same since. Not even after winning the AFC South or capturing a postseason victory for the second consecutive season.

Now, the Texans must travel to Gillette Stadium in January.

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Poll

What grade do you give the Texans in their 19-13 win over the Bengals?

• A
• B
• C
• D
• F

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QB: C+

Matt Schaub was 29-of-38 for 262 yards and no touchdowns. He threw one interception that was returned for a touchdown. He wasn’t sacked. He moved the offense down the field, but they settled for field goals rather than touchdowns.

RB: A

Arian Foster ran 32 times for 140 yards and a touchdown and caught eight passes. He received terrific blocking from his offensive line. He’s the first back in history to reach 100 yards in his first three playoff games.

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