Tom Brady made sure the New England Patriots got off to a fast start on Sunday night, and when the offense stalled after halftime the defense did the rest.

Brady threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and the Patriots snapped a two-game skid and clinched a playoff berth with a 27-6 win over the Houston Texans.

Brady threw TD passes to Keshawn Martin and Rob Gronkowski in the first half to help New England build a 17-6 lead.

The Patriots didn't move the ball as well in the second half, but the defense harassed Brian Hoyer into multiple mistakes. Jabaal Sheard had strip sacks on Hoyer twice after halftime. The Patriots recovered the second one early in the fourth, and James White made it 27-6 with a 2-yard run three plays later.

Hoyer was sacked five times and left the game to be evaluated for a concussion with about 9 minutes remaining.

New England finished with six sacks after also taking down backup T.J. Yates after Hoyer was injured.

"The defense the last four or five weeks has been incredible," Brady said. "So it's good when they are on the field ... they just did a great job."

The Patriots (11-2) moved ahead of the Denver Broncos and the Cincinnati Bengals in the race for the top AFC playoff seed and can clinch the AFC East with a win, or one loss or tie by the New York Jets. New England hasn't lost three straight games since 2002.