Chiefs Defeat Texans. Mahomes Is 7 0 In The District Round.

Chiefs defeat Texans. Mahomes is 7-0 in the district round.

by Men's Reporter Team

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs will be in the AFC Championship Game for the seventh consecutive season. They defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 in the district round on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium, clinching a berth in this season’s conference title game and giving coach Andy Reid his 300th career win.

The Chiefs took a 20-12 lead early in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from a collapsing Patrick Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce. Both have scored multiple touchdowns in the playoffs over the years, but this was one of their best scores. Mahomes was on his way to the ground after being hit, but passed the ball to Kelce before going down.

The Chiefs are 4-2 in the last six AFC Championship games. Both losses came in overtime. The Chiefs will face the winner of Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills to continue their quest for their third consecutive Super Bowl title. The Texans lost in the district round for the second year in a row.

Patrick Mahomes helped the Chiefs hold off the Texans, improving to 7-0 in the district round. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Two words to describe this match: Playoff Kelce. Just like last season, when Kelce had an excellent postseason performance, he did his best heading into the playoffs. The tight end led the Chiefs’ passing game by catching seven passes for 117 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. This was his ninth career 100-yard playoff game, a record. Kelce, 35, looked healthy after he and several key players rested in Week 18 as the Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs and a wild-card bye with one week left in the regular season.

Most surprising performance: The Chiefs got nothing from wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. There is no catch. They were targeted four times.

An alarming trend: The Chiefs allowed more pressure on Mahomes even though the Texans didn’t blitz much. The Texans pressured Mahomes five times on 13 passes in the first half, but things didn’t improve. This has been an issue for the Chiefs for most of the season. Mahomes was sacked a career-high 36 times during the regular season. — Adam Teicher

Next game: AFC Championship Game vs. Bills or Ravens (January 26, 6:30 p.m. ET)

In the Texans’ loss to the Chiefs on Saturday, CJ Stroud was sacked eight times. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Texans fell to 0-6 in the divisional round, missing out on advancing to the AFC Championship Game for the first time. They had a chance to pull off the upset, but made too many mistakes to overcome.

Among their mistakes were multiple unnecessary roughness calls, a total of eight penalties, missed kicks and blocks, and quarterback CJ Stroud being sacked eight times.

In one of the most important moments of the game, with the team trailing 13-12 and the Chiefs facing a third point from the 11th, the defense tackles Mahomes in time before he throws a touchdown to Kelce. I couldn’t.

Amazing stats: Stroud faced a career-high 23 total pressures and was pressured on 56% of his dropbacks. The pressure resulted in eight sacks, tying his career high set in Week 9 against the New York Jets.

QB Breakdown: Stroud’s numbers weren’t great (245 passing yards, no touchdowns), but his performance passed the eye test. He used his feet to extend plays and go for completions, vying for multiple first downs. The Texans went 10-of-17 on third down, with all but two of the conversions coming from Stroud. However, the Texans struggled to overcome wideouts Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell missing the postseason with injuries.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Kelce’s defense. The seven-time All-Pro tormented the Texans defense with 117 total receiving yards on seven catches and one touchdown. Kelce had one game this season with at least 100 receiving yards. The last time he rushed for over 101 yards was in the 2023 AFC Championship Game against the Ravens.

Two words to describe this match: A special miss. The special teams unit made significant mistakes that put the Texans at a disadvantage for much of the game. On the opening kickoff of the game, Houston allowed a 63-yard kickoff return to Kansas City’s Nikko Remigio. That led to a Chiefs field goal and a heated moment when defensive back Kris Boyd shoved special teams coach Frank Ross on the sideline. Texans kicker Kaimi Fairbairn missed two field goals and an extra point try after Joe Mixon’s touchdown in the third quarter, almost tying the score at 13 — DJ Bian = Eme

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