Blame the officiating all you want.
Even with the 30 yards removed, the outcome would have remained near-identical.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce on a diving pass for an 11-yard touchdown, securing the 23-14 win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs became the fourth team in NFL history to follow back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, and the three previous lost. Kansas City will play host to the winner of Buffalo and Baltimore in the conference championship for a chance to head to the Super Bowl.
The Texans won in multiple facets, despite trailing the entire game. C.J. Stoud finished with more passing yards than the three-time Super Bowl champion.
Joe Mixon and the ground game averaged 5.1 yards per attempt compared to Kansas City’s 2.1.
While Kelce made history with his 117-yard outing, the Texans had more consistent receivers. Nico Collins finished with 81 yards while Dalton Schultz totaled 63 yards.
So, what went wrong? Missed opportunities and blown pass protection.
C.J. Stroud was pressured on a career-high 23 dropbacks on Saturday against the Chiefs.
His pressure rate of 56% is the second-highest in an NFL playoff game since ESPN began tracking pressure in 2009 trailing only QB Tim Tebow (63%) in 2011.
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) January 19, 2025
Stroud, who finished with 245 passing yards, was sacked eight times, including four times on third-down conversions. After connecting with Schultz and Collins for first-down gains, defensive end George Karlaftis beat two pass blockers to record his third sack of the evening.
Houston tried to tack on three points from a 35-yard field goal attempt by Ka’imi Fairbairn, but Leo Chenel timed his jump to block the kick and keep the difference at 11.
Much like in Week 16’s 27-19 loss at Arrowhead, Houston had its chance to tie the game. Joe Mixon capped off a 10-minute drive with a 13-yard run to bring the Texans within one, but Fairbairn’s attempt after traveled right.
Fairbairn also missed a 55-yard field goal as the wind sailed the pass wide right. Those three points would have tied the game at 6-6.
While Stroud faced ample pressure, Mahomes was sacked three times. It could have been more, but several missed holding calls and a roughing the passer play on Will Anderson Jr. during the first quarter negated multiple stops behind the line of scrimmage.
INTO THE END ZONE JOE GOES
: ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/jPBxH4MWhR
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 18, 2025
Later in the third quarter, Mahomes became an open-field runner and tried to pick up a first down before sliding for a gain of 6. But linebacker Henry To’oTo’o apparently led with his head as Mahomes was dropping, leading to a late hit call and an extra 15 yards to help set up the Kelce touchdown.
Mahomes improved 16-3 in the playoffs, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL postseason history. The two-time regular-season MVP also moved to 7-0 in the divisional round.
Behind Mahomes’ heroics, Chiefs coach Andy Reid became the fourth NFL coach with 300 career wins, joining Don Shula, Bill Belichick and George Halas.
DeMeco Ryans asked about the controversial calls that occurred today involving Patrick Mahomes, Ryans said that they knew coming into today they knew it was going to be them against everybody.
pic.twitter.com/MaauRiMXIX
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) January 19, 2025
Meanwhile, Houston falls to 0-6 all-time in the divisional round and will return to NRG Stadium with intentions of moving to the conference championship title game in 2026.
The Texans now own the No. 25 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft come April. Houston must cut ties with several players and coaches this offseason, whether it comes from free agency or straight-up release.
For the second consecutive year, the Texans will finish with double-digit wins in the regular season. For the second consecutive year, their season ends just short of a conference title game.