The Kansas City Chiefs again caught a few breaks, but the Houston Texans missed many opportunities to knock off the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions Saturday.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce wowed the thousands of fans at Arrowhead Stadium after a clutch fourth-quarter touchdown—and might have annoyed millions at home after a beneficial and controversial call a few plays earlier.
Yes, there was controversy. But in the end, it was obvious the Chiefs were too much for the Texans in the 23–14 victory to advance to the AFC title game for the seventh consecutive season. With the win, Andy Reid also became the fourth coach in NFL history with 300 wins.
Will Anderson Jr. dominated and C.J. Stroud battled, but Texans kicker Kai’mi Fairbairn had a pair of deflating missed kicks, opening the door for the experienced Chiefs to extend their lead multiple times.
Here are the key points that decided the outcome of the game.
The legend of Mahomes and Kelce continues to grow
After a regular season filled with concerns of a sluggish offense, Mahomes and Kelce again delivered elite performances when it mattered most.
Mahomes targeted Kelce in the middle of the field to counter the Texans’ dominant pass rushers, which gave them plenty of fits in the first half. Anderson’s number wasn’t called as much after a few chunk plays from Kelce that kept drives alive. Another highlight reel for the dynamic duo occurred after Mahomes was falling forward, but found Kelce in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead 20–12 with 11:52 left in regulation.
Mahomes (16-of-25, 177 yards, TD) needed a vintage Kelce performance (seven catches, 117 yards, one touchdown) because the rushing game struggled to get going and the other pass catchers struggled to get involved. Mahomes did have a few notable connections with rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy (five catches, 45 yards) to keep drives alive. But Kansas City didn’t crack 200 yards of offense until midway through the fourth quarter and finished with 212 total yards and 50 on the ground.
Chiefs again get the benefit of a few controversial calls
It wouldn’t be a Chiefs game without a few controversial calls going in their favor.
And a big one was an unnecessary roughness penalty that set up Mahomes’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Kelce. Even the ESPN broadcast crew of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck seemed annoyed at the call because of the limited contact to Mahomes, who made a late slide leading to two Texans defenders colliding with each other.
Earlier in the game, Anderson was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty that led to the Chiefs adding three points. There was also a play in which it seemed Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson gained the first down, but he was ruled short after a 13-yard reception on second-and-14. That one didn’t hurt the Texans much because they ended up scoring a touchdown to make it 13–12 after a missed extra point with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
Will Anderson Jr. nearly wrecks Chiefs’ game plan
The Chiefs’ revamped offensive line with Joe Thuney playing left tackle held the Texans’ stout defense to only one sack during their meeting in Week 16.
It was a different story in the postseason. Thuney and the rest of the K.C. offensive line had no answers for containing Anderson, especially in the first half, as the star edge rusher headed into halftime with a sack and two tackles for loss. The 2023 first-round pick ended with two sacks, four tackles and three tackles for loss.
Unfortunately for the Texans, Anderson was a one-man show at times. Mahomes managed to avoid Anderson’s pressure by quickly finding Kelce and Worthy on chunk plays, including on the touchdown drive that led to the Chiefs extending their lead to 13–3 with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Texans’ special teamer shoves coach, gives Chiefs head start
Kris Boyd had the worst start imaginable in a playoff game.
Boyd, who primarily contributes on Houston’s special teams, placed Mahomes & Co. in the red zone after getting hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty for tossing his helmet after the opening kickoff. That was followed by an even dumber decision when Boyd strongly shoved special teams coordinator Frank Ross, who was in the midst of giving Boyd an earful for the costly penalty.
Surprisingly, the Texans didn’t bench Boyd for screaming and shoving his coach. Perhaps the team chalked it up to a passionate start because Boyd forced a fumble that ended up going back to the Chiefs following Nikko Remigio’s 63-yard kickoff return. Also, Houston would have been down an experienced player on special teams. And it helped Boyd’s cause that the Texans’ defense stopped the Chiefs, limiting the damage to an early 3–0 deficit.
We’ll find out soon whether Boyd will face consequences for his actions from the Texans or the league.
Chiefs take advantage of Texans’ lack of pass catchers
Everything seemed harder for Stroud, who desperately needed wide receivers Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs, but both were out with injuries.
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie made life difficult for star wideout Nico Collins (five catches, 81 yards), who went quiet for long stretches of the game. Even with Joe Mixon (88 rushing yards, TD) churning yards, Stroud couldn’t turn the balanced attack into quick plays for his passing game. The Chiefs put plenty of pressure on Stroud and didn’t mind letting him scramble for yards if it meant taking away his passing options. Stroud (19-of-28, 245 yards, zero touchdowns) needed help off the field after taking a sack from George Karlaftis, who had three of the Chiefs’ eight sacks.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Divisional Rapid Reaction: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce Have Chiefs on Super Bowl Doorstep.
