FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Julian Edelman became the New England Patriots’ all-time leading receiver in the playoffs when he caught two passes in the first half Saturday night.

Edelman caught a 6-yard pass from Tom Brady on the Pats’ first play, then a 48-yard pass in the second quarter.

That gave him 70 career catches in the playoffs, passing Wes Welker, who had 69. It also put Edelman into a tie for ninth place in NFL playoff history with Fred Biletnikof and Anquan Boldin.

DION LEWIS made a quick impression in his first playoff game. He scored the Patriots first two touchdowns, both in the first quarter.

Lewis took a swing pass from Brady, then made a move on linebacker Benardrick McKinney to score an easy 13-yard TD with 9:27 left in the period.

Then, after Houston got a field goal, he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Lewis fielded the kick and began up the left side, cutting right at the 20, where he avoided a tackle. He then outraced Brian Peters down the left sideline.

It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown in Patriots playoff history.

DANNY AMENDOLA was active for the Patriots after missing the season’s final four games with a high ankle sprain suffered while returning a punt Dec. 4 against the Los Angeles Rams. Amendola gave the Patriots four solid wide receivers for the game, joining Edelman, Chris Hogan and Michael Floyd.

Rookie wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who caught 32 passes with four touchdowns in the regular season, was inactive. He suffered a knee injury Dec. 24 against the Jets and also missed the season finale in Miami.

OTHER INACTIVE players for the Patriots included quarterback Jacoby Brissett (who led the Pats to a 27-0 win over the Texans on Sept. 22 while Brady was serving his suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo was injured), cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Cyrus Jones (knee), safety Jordan Richards, running back D.J. Foster and offensive lineman LaAdrian Waddle.

THE TEXANS missed a big part of the defense. Safety Quintin Demps, who led Houston with six interceptions (most by a safety in the NFL this season), was out with a hamstring injury he suffered in the first half of the 27-14 playoff win over Oakland.

THERE’S MONEY to be made in these playoff games. Not a lot compared to most salaries but a nice little bonus for making the postseason.

Players on both teams will receive $27,000 each for playing in Saturday’s game.

Those who advance to the conference championship game will earn another $49,000.

The winners of the Super Bowl will earn $107,000 and the losers will receive $53,000.

TREVOR BATES, the Westbrook High and University of Maine grad, is helping New England get ready each week as a member of the practice squad.

“I’m trying to make the most of my opportunities, the best I can, on the practice field and in my preparation, doing what I can to help the team win and putting myself in a good place for the future,” said Bates this week.

He works to give the starters specific looks on certain formations or on special teams plays.

“It feels good, it’s a blessing,” said Bates. “It feels great to be a part of this. I’m trying to make the most of it.”

THE GAME-TIME temperature was 28 with a wind chill of 21. The coldest game ever played at Gillette Stadium was a divisional-round game on Jan. 10, 2004, a 17-14 win over Tennessee that started with a temperature of 4 degrees and a wind chill of minus-10.