Sam McDowell: Five things that stood out about Chiefs' playoff win vs. Texans in AFC divisional round

Sam McDowell, The Kansas City Star on Jan 18, 2025

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The annual tradition has returned yet another year.

The Chiefs will play in a seventh straight AFC championship game after a 23-14 win Saturday against the Texans in the divisional round.

And after a one-year hiatus, this one is back in Kansas City.

Two games shy of the first three-peat in NFL history, the Chiefs will await the winner of Sunday’s game between the Ravens and Bills with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

That’s getting ahead of ourselves. For the moment, here are five observations from immediately after the divisional round win in KC:

1. The Patrick Mahomes playoff bounce

Well, kind of.

The NFL’s best playoff quarterback didn’t exactly look his best for three quarters.

Then he supplied an all-time highlight at the onset of the fourth.

Mahomes got tripped up by Mario Edwards on a third-and-goal pass rush, but with his body nearly parallel to the ground, Mahomes managed to flick a pass toward the end zone.

It fell right into the chest of Travis Kelce. Who else?

Two hours of frustration were released in a fist pump as he trotted back to the sideline — because it was a rough go beforehand.

Mahomes missed throws early in the game, including a potential opening to Hollywood Brown for a first-quarter touchdown and a wide-open Travis Kelce on the next.

He never really did find a great rhythm, though he completed 16 of 25 throws for 177 yards and the touchdown.

But whoever awaits in the next round — the Bills or Ravens — the Chiefs will need a better day from Mahomes.

2. The Kelce playoff bounce

OK, for real on this one.

The breakthrough for that stumbling Chiefs offense? Travis Kelce.

Mahomes found Kelce over the middle of the field for a 49-yard run and catch, with Kelce sidestepping two attempted tackles in the secondary.

Vintage.

Because we haven’t seen that this year. Kelce had forced just three missed tackles all season — after 20, 25 and 23 the previous three seasons, respectively.

We can’t consider it a coincidence that it came after a 24-day layoff — particularly when Kelce benefited from some rest ahead of the last postseason.

Kelce caught seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. That’s more yards than he’s had in any game this season — and notably more than the rest of the team combined.

3. Steve Spagnuolo’s influence

Down eight in the fourth quarter, the Texans drove into Chiefs territory, just 40 yards shy of answering that miraculous Mahomes throw.

Then Steve Spagnuolo took over.

The play-caller.

With the Texans in sure-fire passing downs, Spagnuolo dialed up back-to-back safety blitzes — though with different safeties. They both fooled a quarterback and offensive line that has struggled with blitzes all year. (Stroud has just an 82.7 passer rating against blitzes this year, fourth-worst in the NFL.)

The Chiefs got him twice. Justin Reid broke through and forced an incompletion on third down. And after the Texans left the offense on the field on fourth down — which was somehow news to C.J. Stroud, who had walked to the sideline — Spagnuolo dialed up another one.

George Karlaftis brought him down and ended the drive.

4. More defensive pressure

That fourth-down stop continued a common theme.

The Texans moved the ball just fine Saturday, but the Chiefs got to Stroud on key third down after key third down.

The Chiefs sacked Stroud eight times in the game, and half came on third down and another on fourth. Karlaftis had three by himself.

The Chiefs had to win up front.

The Texans allowed the fifth-highest pressure rate in the league this season. If you don’t get to him, he can pick you apart. And he did when he wasn’t pressured, by the way, particularly over the middle of the field. Stroud was 11 of 12 when throwing over the middle.

5. A redemption story

It’s been a long wait for Kareem Hunt to appear in another playoff game with the Chiefs.

Seven years, to be exact.

He made a pretty good payoff on the other end of it.

Hunt gave the Chiefs about their only productive rushes of the game, and carried eight times for 44 yards and a touchdown.

But his most productive went for just three yards.

The Chiefs correctly left their offense on the field on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, and Hunt’s presence in the backfield allowed them a luxury: Just do the obvious.

They turned and handed it to Hunt, who was greeted in the backfield, but, in true Hunt form, kept his legs moving forward. He gained three on the play, setting up the Mahomes-to-Kelce touchdown throw.

The response to Hunt’s performance could be that he should be the lead back, but I’ll offer a counterpoint: They kept him fresh until late, taking advantage of a Houston defense that was not fresh, and he had 39 of his 44 yards in the fourth quarter.