KANSAS CITY, MO. (AP) — Kansas City defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to move on to the AFC title game for the seventh straight season. Patrick Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown, most of which went to best friend Travis Kelce.
As WNBA player Caitlin Clark and girlfriend Taylor Swift watched from a suite, Kelce had seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, helping the Kansas City (16-2) team maintain its hopes of winning a record third straight Super Bowl.
After three previous teams lost, Kansas City became the fourth club in NFL history to advance to the conference final game and win back-to-back Lombardi Trophies. In an attempt to unseat the reigning champions, they will try to reverse that pattern at Arrowhead Stadium the following weekend when they play the Bills or Ravens in Buffalo on Sunday.
Mahomes is 7-0 in the divisional round and has moved to 16-3 in the playoffs, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL history, behind Tom Brady. Andy Reid became the fourth NFL coach with 300 career victories thanks in part to Mahomes.
The Texans (11-8) have yet to win six divisional games, though. Kansas City has defeated them twice.
C.J. Stroud, the quarterback for Houston, was sacked eight times despite throwing for 245 yards. Running for 88 yards and a touchdown, Joe Mixon, who had been doubtful to play due to an ankle ailment, grabbed a few receptions.
With 1:46 remaining, Texans kicker Kai imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard from goal attempt, an extra-point attempt, and another field goal attempt that would have made it a one-possession game and preserved Houston’s hopes of a comeback.
Actually, from the beginning, the Texans’ special teams were in disarray. After a wild episode in which irate Houston cornerback Kris Boyd almost pushed his own coach to the ground, Kansas City came very close to starting the game with a kickoff return for a score.
Early in the game, the Texans only allowed a few field goals from Kansas City, but late in the first half, when the bruised Kareem Hunt crashed into the end zone to give the AFC West champs a 13-3 lead, their defense was powerless to stop them.
The AFC South champs appeared to have been rejuvenated by that late kick when they took the field for the second half after Houston made a 48-yard field goal despite chilly, swirling winds to cut the game to one possession at the half.
They spent the most of the third quarter on a 15-play, 82-yard drive that was expertly managed by Stroud, who also caught all four of their third-down conversions, including one in which the quarterback scurried to the sideline and took a nasty hit. Mixon ran 13 yards to complete the drive, but Fairbairn’s extra point attempt to equalize the score was blasted wide right.
The momentum could have gone the other way with that miss.
Kansas City countered with a lengthy drive of their own, as they have done so frequently in winning their last eight postseason games. On the 81-yard march, Mahomes made four passes to Kelce, including the 11-yard touchdown strike to his reliable tight end as Houston’s Mario Edwards Jr. dragged the two-time NFL MVP to the ground.
There were two chances for the Texans to drive for a game-winning touchdown. However, with roughly ten minutes remaining, George Karlaftis sacked Stroud on fourth down close to middle, ending the first drive. With little over seven minutes remaining, Houston was forced to kick the ball away after Stroud misfired on consecutive passes, stopping the second.
Harrison Butker’s field goal with 4:32 remaining sealed the victory after Kansas City drove inside the Texans’ 10 points.
Injuries
LB for the Texans In the first half, Azeez Al-Shaair suffered a knee injury. Due to a knee injury, his ability to play this week was in doubt.
Kansas City: SS Bryan Cook returned to the game after missing the majority of the first half while being assessed for a concussion…. FS In the fourth quarter, Justin Reid was hit hard in the head while breaking up a pass, but he remained in the game.
Up next
A week from Sunday, Kansas City will host the AFC championship game for the sixth time in seven years. It will either play the Ravens, who lost in Week 1, or the Bills, one of just two teams to defeat Kansas City during the regular season.
