Travis Kelce’s milestone day helped the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for a three-peat continue for another week with a 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the AFC divisional round.
Kelce led the Chiefs’ offense with seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. This was his ninth career playoff game with at least 100 receiving yards, which is the most in NFL history — breaking a tie with Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. Kelce and Rice are the only players in league history with at least 2,000 receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns in their postseason careers.
MAHOMES TD TO KELCE AS HE FALLS DOWN
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Patrick Mahomes moves to 16-3 in the playoffs and has reached the AFC Championship Game in all seven seasons as a starting quarterback — a streak that began in 2018. He finished 16-of-25 for 177 yards and a touchdown. Running back Kareem Hunt added a score on the ground for Kansas City. Kicker Harrison Butker was 3-for-3 on field goals. The victory is Andy Reid’s 300th win in the NFL as a coach (counting the playoffs) — the fourth member to join that club. This is also the eighth straight playoff triumph for the Chiefs.
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Houston gave Kansas City all it could handle in this one. The Texans gained more total yards (336 to 212) and controlled the clock (33:26 to 26:34) with a successful running game — 149 rushing yards and an average of 5.1 per carry. Running back Joe Mixon tallied 88 of those yards and a touchdown. Quarterback C.J. Stroud finished with 245 passing yards but was sacked eight times. A 15-play, 82-yard drive to open the second half that chewed up 10 minutes and 24 seconds had Houston in position to tie the game at 13 but kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed the extra point.
That was a game changer as the Chiefs responded with a 13-play, 81-yard drive on their own that took up 7 minutes and 44 seconds and resulted in Kelce’s touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, linebacker Leo Chenal capped the victory with a blocked field goal attempt.
Next up for Kansas City is the winner of Sunday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs will host that game on Jan. 26, at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS and have played each of their possible opponents already in the 2024 season. Kansas City beat Baltimore (at home) in Week 1, 27-20, but lost to Buffalo (on the road) in Week 11, 30-21.
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Kelce shines in playoff opener
Throughout the regular season, Kelce was trying to perfect the football version of a savvy veteran boxer, similar to former great Floyd Mayweather Jr. — throw quality punches and never take a haymaker to preserve your body as much as you can for the bigger fight, the grand battle with a much greater prize. Kelce’s most productive game this season before Saturday was 14 receptions for 100 yards in the an overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9.
The Chiefs’ 23 days of rest appeared to be a great help for Kelce, who produced his longest reception of the season, a 49-yard gain, before halftime. Beyond Kelce’s history-making performance, his top form led to him returning to what made him such a special tight end: his ability to gain chunk yards after the catch. Kelce produced 57 yards after his receptions Saturday, which was more than any other skill-position player was able to generate. — Nate Taylor, Chiefs beat writer
K.C.’s pass rush delivers a masterpiece
Led by longtime coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs’ defense accomplished its biggest mission. The unit disrupted the connection between Stroud and receiver Nico Collins.
In the previous round, the Texans rallied to beat the Los Angeles Chargers in part because Stroud completed seven passes to Collins for 122 yards and a touchdown. Against the Chiefs, Collins had five receptions for 81 yards. When those plays didn’t happen, cornerback Trent McDuffie was effective in man coverage on Collins and Stroud was pressured or hit or sacked by the Chiefs, a byproduct of Spagnuolo’s pass-rushing plan. Stroud was sacked eight times and hit a total of 14 times.
In the second half, Spagnuolo’s blitzes led to Stroud often not having time to even look at all his receivers. Defensive end George Karlaftis led the Chiefs with three sacks.
George Karlaftis takes down Stroud for a turnover on downs!
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A quick strip sack from defensive end Charles Omenihu was the penultimate play before Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. — Taylor
Awaiting their next opponent
Following their victory, the Chiefs have returned to the AFC Championship Game for the seventh consecutive time, extending their league-long record. Sunday night, the Chiefs will watch their two top rivals, the Bills and the Ravens, battle in one of the most-anticipated games of the year.
That begs this question: Who should the Chiefs root for? Regardless of the winner, the Chiefs will feel they have plenty of favorable matchups. Although the Bills were the only team to beat Kansas City this season with Mahomes as the starter, the Chiefs should want another rematch. We have to remember that the Chiefs have eliminated the Bills in three of the past four years. A potential rematch with the Bills would also feature a group of players that missed the first meeting in November — Omenihu, cornerback Jaylen Watson, receiver Hollywood Brown and running back Isiah Pacheco.
A rematch with the Ravens could be more difficult for the Chiefs. Kansas City barely beat the Ravens on the NFL’s opening night, the difference being the right big toe of Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely, who thought he caught a last-second touchdown pass that would’ve led Baltimore to try to win the game with a two-point conversion. That night was the first time quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry played as teammates. Since then, that duo has become electric and the Ravens’ defense, with Kyle Hamilton’s shift to safety, has improved. — Taylor
Required reading
(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
