The Kansas City Chiefs began their pursuit of a third-straight Lombardi trophy with their eighth-straight playoff win beating the Texans 23-14 at Arrowhead Stadium Saturday. The Chiefs led 6-3 at the end of the first quarter and had their initial score set up by a 63-yard return of the opening kickoff by Nikko Remigio. The Chiefs took advantage of a 49-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce to set up a touchdown run by Kareem Hunt to take a 10-point second quarter lead. A late field goal made it a touchdown lead at halftime for the Chiefs.
The Texans scored early in the third quarter and missed the extra point to trail 13-12 following a 10 minute and 24 second drive. The Chiefs responded on their next possession as Mahomes found Kelce while falling down to give KC a two-score lead following the extra point. The teams traded three and outs before KC kicker Harrison Butker extended the lead to 23-12 late in the fourth. Houston drove the ball deep late with under two minutes to play and tried a field goal to cut the deficit to one score but Leo Chenal blocked the kick to preserve the two-score advantage. The Chiefs took a safety intentionally with less than 10 seconds to go to provide the final margin. Head coach Andy Reid picked up his 300th career win with the victory. The Chiefs will play in their seventh AFC Championship game a week from Sunday.
