Just like last season, the Houston Texans always trying to overcome the obstacle.
Patrick Mahomes’ 11-yard diving touchdown pass to Travis Kelce in the fourth quarter marked the beginning of the end for the Texans at Arrowhead Stadium. That pass would be the deciding factor as the Kansas City Chiefs advanced to their seventh straight appearance in the AFC title game with a 23-14 divisional round victory.
“We knew it was going to be us against the refs before this game,” defensive end Will Anderson said after the game.
Kansas City, which becomes the fourth team in NFL history to win back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, has had some calls in its favor. Mahomes was hit twice with a rough call to the passer that led to scoring drives.
The two-time MVP was also “tackled” late while a runner on the field, leading to a 15-yard penalty and another series of downs in the fourth quarter. Six plays later, Mahomes found Kelce for the score to extend Kansas City’s lead by eight.
“We knew before this game that it was us against everyone,” Ryans said, before clarifying a bit. “When I say everyone, I mean everyone. All the opponents, the doubters, everyone we had to face today. Knowing before this match what we were up against, we cannot commit the mistakes that we made. We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes that happened.
CJ Stroud tried to make the most of his afternoon, but the pressure was powerful from the Kanas City front seven. He was sacked eight times, including three times on fourth down.
Outside of a 13-yard third-quarter touchdown run from Joe Mixon, Kansas City held Houston’s offense largely in check. The special teams were also far from dynamic from the start.
Kris Boyd was assessed a 15-yard penalty after Houston gave up an initial 63-yard return. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed two kicks and a PAT.
Here are the shots from Saturday’s showcase at Arrowhead Stadium.
Offensive Snaps: 68
Defensive Snaps: 51
Special teams snaps: 21
The Texans will finish the 2024 season with an 11-7 record. They will be selected 25th overall in the upcoming NFL Draft.
This article was originally published on Texans Wire: Texans-Chiefs Divisional Round: Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Instant Countdown
