The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday afternoon, moving on to their seventh straight AFC Championship game.
Mahomes magic, 2025 edition.
Going into the game’s fourth quarter, it was clear that quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t having his best day — at least by his lofty standards. That’s somewhat understandable, given he hadn’t played in nearly a month.
Regardless, in the NFL, it only takes one moment to redefine a narrative, and Mahomes did just that with his fourth-quarter touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce.
Tremendous play by Patrick Mahomes — a perfect throw as he was being tackled to the ground. pic.twitter.com/bETbzvlO4B
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) January 18, 2025
Coming out of halftime, the Texans made it interesting, scoring a touchdown (but missing the extra point) to make it a one-point game.
A slight shift in momentum was palpable, and at that stage, Mahomes and the Chiefs knew they needed six instead of three.
With the pocket collapsing, Mahomes stepped up — but defensive tackle Mario Edwards grabbed him by his ankles. Falling to the ground, Mahomes somehow fired a pinpoint pass into Kelce’s chest, and he secured it easily as the stadium erupted.
With their extra point, the Chiefs extended their lead to eight, never looking back following yet another magic moment from Mahomes.
Steve Spagnuolo’s front was relentless.
Apart from the opening drive of the third quarter, the Chiefs’ defense delivered an outstanding performance on Saturday.
Coming into the contest, Kansas City’s front was projected as a mismatch for Houston’s weak offensive line — and it fully played out that way.
The Chiefs found ways to penetrate the Texans’ offensive line throughout the afternoon, finishing with 8.0 sacks and 14 quarterback hits as a unit.
Once the Chiefs went up eight points, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called blitzes on three straight plays, learning as he went that Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud couldn’t handle it.
On the final play of the sequence, on fourth-and-10, Spagnuolo sent six, allowing defensive end George Karlaftis to break free for a sack and loss of 16 yards. Karlaftis has never had a three-sack day in the regular season. That… he saved for the playoffs.
At that point, everybody in the building knew that Houston’s hopes had been dashed.
Playoff Travis Kelce is back like he never left.
Everybody knows about Kelce’s playoff performances, but some wondered if he could continue to put up the same production at the age of 35.
The future Pro Football Hall of Famer answered that question on Saturday afternoon with a resounding yes, catching seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
The game marked Kelce’s 14th consecutive postseason matchup with at least 70 yards — and he became the second player in NFL history with 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in the playoffs. The other player’s name is Jerry Rice.
Rice finished his career with 22 postseason touchdowns, the most in NFL history. The fact that Kelce could pass that within the next month is nothing short of remarkable.
