The Kansas City Chiefs are heading back to the AFC Championship game. Despite a gritty performance from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Chiefs recorded a 23-14 win in the AFC divisional round on the strength of future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce, who caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
Kelce's biggest play was an 11-yard touchdown grab that extended Kansas City's lead to eight points less than four minutes into the fourth quarter. He now has nine career postseason games with over 100 receiving yards, breaking the record previously held by Jerry Rice, who is widely regarded as the greatest receiver in NFL history.
Kansas City started the game with a 63-yard punt return by Nikko Remigio that turned into a 78-yard pickup following a Houston penalty. The two teams then traded short field goals before Kareem Hunt scored the game's first touchdown with just under five minutes left until halftime. The score was set up by a 49-yard catch and run by Kelce.
Stroud, despite injuring his left knee early in the first quarter, consistently made plays with both his arm and his feet while leading Houston on consecutive scoring drives. The second drive was a 15-play, 82-yard march at the start of the second half that was punctuated by a Joe Mixon touchdown run. But Houston missed the PAT that would have tied the score, and the Chiefs offense responded with its own scoring drive that concluded with Kelce's touchdown catch. Kansas City's defense and special teams then came up with big stops to preserve the win.
Here's a closer look at how the Chiefs advanced to their seventh consecutive AFC title game.
Kansas City received a vintage performance from Kelce, who had just one 100-yard receiving game during the regular season. Kelce was complemented in the passing game by rookie Xavier Worthy, who caught five of six targets for 45 yards in his postseason debut. Mahomes was 12 of 14 for 162 yards and a touchdown when throwing to Kelce or Worthy and was just 4 of 11 for 15 yards on attempts to anyone else.
Kansas City's offense improved in the red zone in the second half after being just 1 of 3 in the first half. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on both of their trips inside the Texans' 20-yard line in the second half.
Defensively, Kansas City got timely sacks of Stroud, who was taken down eight times. George Karlaftis had three sacks of Stroud that included one on fourth down with the Chiefs protecting an eight-point lead with just under 10 minutes left.
George Karlaftis takes down Stroud for a turnover on downs!
— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2025
📺: #HOUvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/VWKVvzdD5e
Kansas City also made two big plays on special teams: Remigio's big return to start the game and Justin Reid's blocked field goal attempt with 1:52 left and the Chiefs ahead by 11 points.
Houston put up a fight, but too many self-inflicted wounds prevented it from reaching its first conference title game. Specifically, the Texans' special teams imploded, as Ka'imi Fairbairn missed two field goals.
Penalties haunted Houston all day. The Texans were flagged eight times for 82 yards, while Kansas City was penalized four times for 29 yards. Some of the flags on the Texans were legitimate, while several penalties were iffy at best.
Houston's defense was solid most of the game, but it struggled in the red zone in the second half and allowed too many big plays by Kelce.
Offensively, the Texans' offensive line struggled to protect Stroud, but other than that, it was an inspired effort by this unit. For large stretches, the Texans offense dictated the game's momentum while keeping Mahomes and Co. on the sideline. They were 10 of 17 on third down (compared to the Chiefs being 4 of 11) while consistently getting clutch completions from Stroud on possession downs. Stroud had a lot of success getting the ball to Nico Collins, Dalton Schultz and Xavier Hutchinson, who caught a combined 13 passes for 196 yards. Houston's passing game was complemented by Mixon and a ground game that outrushed the Chiefs 149-50.
Had the Texans had their full complement of receivers, it's fathomable to think that they would have won this game.
After Houston nearly tied the score, the Chiefs regained control of the game on their ensuing drive when Mahomes hit Kelce for a touchdown as he was falling to the ground.
MAHOMES TD TO KELCE AS HE FALLS DOWN
— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2025
📺: #HOUvsKC on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ytEUsoGyin
As we alluded to earlier, there were some suspect calls on Saturday night, with the majority of them coming against the Texans. One was bad enough to draw this response from Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who was on the call for ESPN.
"Oh, come on! I mean, he's a runner. I could not disagree with that one more. He barely gets hit." - Troy Aikman
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2025
"The two Houston players hit each other. That should not have been a foul." - Russell Yurk
"They've gotta address it in the offseason..." - Aikman 🏈🎙️🦓 #NFL https://t.co/vXj2v7VTKg pic.twitter.com/QioQ5IQwhg
"We knew going into this game, man, it was us versus everybody," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said afterward while alluding to the officiating. "When I say everybody, I mean everybody. The naysayers, the doubt. Everybody we had to go against again today. Going into this game knowing what we were up against, we can't make the mistakes we made. We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes."
Kansas City will host the winner of tomorrow night's divisional round playoff game in Buffalo between the Ravens and Bills. The Chiefs defeated the Ravens in Week 1 but lost their regular-season showdown against the Bills.
For a second straight year, Houston won the AFC South division title and a wild-card round playoff game. They surely hope to have better protection, special teams play and a healthier receiving corps if they are in this same spot next year.
Justin Reid blocks the short FG try, preserving KC's 23-12 lead and the game. Chiefs just took an intentional safety, so Houston will have one last gasp, trailing 23-14.
Stroud hits Dalton Schultz for a first down on a third-and-13 play. Houston not going away despite the 11-point deficit and the clock ticking. Just 2:27 left and need two scores.
Kelce and Kareem Hunt have gotten KC back in the red zone. Houston can ill afford any type of score here.
Houston forces a three and out as Mahomes throws consecutive incomplete passes. The Texans will have to march 94 yards, though, with 8:32 left in the game and trailing 20-12.
Houston got to KC territory, but the Chiefs' dialed up the pressure on the drive's last three plays. George Karlaftis sacks Stroud on fourth down, giving KC the ball on Houston's 44-yard line with 9:59 left.
Mahomes hits Kelce in the end zone as he was falling to the ground, extending KC's lead to 20-12 with 11:52 left. 13-play, 81-yard drive that took 7:44 off the clock.
KC converts on fourth and short with Kareem hunt, and Mahomes hits Kelce for 18 yards. Kelce has now broken Jerry Rice's playoff record for 100-yard receiving games (9).
KC faces a fourth and less than a yard as the fourth quarter begins. One would think that KC will go for it given how well the Texans' offense has looked so far. Both teams had just one possession that quarter. Houston out-gained Kansas City 101-38 in the third quarter.
Mahomes hits Kelce for KC's first first down of the half. The Chiefs converted on third down despite a holding call Trey Smith on the drive's first play.
Speaking of penalties, the Texans were just dinged for roughing the passer. Penalties are killing Houston.
Houston caps off its 15-play, 82-yard drive with a 13-yard TD run by Joe Mixon, who had an excellent drive. Stroud was 5 for 5 on the drive. Houston still trails, though, after missing an extra point. The drive took over 10 minutes off the clock.
Despite facing a second-and-19, Houston moves the chains after two clutch completions by Stroud, who is on a heater.
The Texans do start the half with a steady diet of Mixon, who picks up the half's first first down on a nice run on the left side of his line. Texans close to midfield.
Houston moved the ball well in the first half, but some self-inflicted wounds prevented them from scoring more points in the game's first 30 minutes. If I'm Houston I'm focusing on running the ball, keeping Mahomes on the field and giving Stroud more manageable possession downs.
Score: 13-6 KC
First downs: KC 8-7
Third down: HOU 4-8, KC 2-5
Yards: HOU 174-123
Red zone: HOU 0-1, KC 1-3
TOP: Texans 17:09
Penalties: HOU 3-38, KC 1-5
Stroud: 6-10, 102 yards, 3 sacks, 32 yards on 3 carries
Mahomes: 7-13, 114 yards, 2 sacks
Mixon: 46 yards on 11 carries
Kelce: 72 yards on 2 catches
HOU: 95 yards on 17 carries
KC: 19 yards on 9 carries
Mahomes zips a 49-yard completion to Travis Kelce (who else?) that sets up Kareem Hunt's TD, increasing KC's lead to 13-3 with 4:36 to play before halftime. Mahomes 7 of 13 for 114 yards so far.
Chiefs safety Bryan Cook is being evaluated for a head injury.
A sack by Omenihu on third down helped set up a missed 55-yard FG try by Ka'imi Fairbairn on fourth down. Texans are beating themselves so far, but credit KC's defense for making critical stops on possession downs.
Stroud's knee is apparently not an issue, as he just took off for 28 yards on a third-and-9 play. Texans are now in Chiefs territory.
Anderson atones for his penalty earlier with the game with his sack of Mahomes, forcing the Chiefs' first punt. The last two drives have ended with punts.
KC's third drive is underway as the first quarter comes to a close. The Chiefs scored field goals on the game's first two drives.
Safety Bryan Cook is being evaluated for a head injury, according to ESPN. Cook is currently in the Chiefs' locker room.
Stroud sacked on third down, forcing a punt. But the drive took a hit on the previous play when Xavier Hutchinson dropped a pass that would have given the Texans a first down. Houston can't make mistakes like that.
KC regains the lead following Harrison Butker's second FG of the quarter. But the Texans' defense once again came up big in the red zone to force a FG.
The drive's big play was a roughing the passer penalty against Will Anderson Jr. after his hit on Mahomes on a third-and-8 play.
C.J. Stroud is dealing with a left knee injury, according to ESPN. The Texans' medical staff is doing what they can to remedy the issue whenever Stroud is on the sideline, but expect the injury to minimize Stroud's mobility for the remainder of the game.
Houston drove 68 yards in 10 plays on its opening drive before setting for a 30-yard FG goal and a tied score midway through the opening quarter. Stroud was 3 of 4 for 53 yards on the drive, but he struggled to jog off the field after getting tackled on a short run on third down. Definitely something to monitor.
Both teams are 0-1 in the red zone so far today.
Kris Boyd, who committed the 15-yard penalty on the game's opening drive, shoved Texans special teams coach Frank Ross as he was coming off the field.
Nikko Remigio starts the game with a 63-yard kickoff return, which turns into a 78-yard return after a Texans gunner threw his helmet after the play. KC starts with the ball at Houston's 13.
There was a fumble at the end of the return that was picked up by veteran running back Samaje Perine. The Texans hold in the red zone, though, as KC has to settle for a field goal and an early 3-0 lead.
This is the first time Patrick Mahomes and several other Chiefs players have suited up for a game since their 29-10 win over the Steelers on Christmas Day, exactly three weeks ago. Mahomes and other starters rested for KC's Week 18 loss to the Broncos and had a bye week last weekend.
The Chiefs defense is getting fired up ahead of taking on C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense.
Here come the Texans:
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