Chiefs begin quest for 3rd straight Lombardi Trophy as Houston arrives for AFC divisional round game

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2025.

Houston (11-7) at Kansas City (15-2)

Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST, ESPN/ABC

BetMGM NFL odds: Chiefs by 8.

Against the spread: Texans 8-8-2; Chiefs 8-9.

Series record: Chiefs lead 10-5.

Last meeting: Chiefs beats Texans 27-19 on Dec. 21 in Kansas City, Mo.

Last week: Texans beat Chargers 32-12; Chiefs off.

Texans offense: overall (18), rush (14), pass (20), scoring (16).

Texans defense: overall (3), rush (11), pass (6), scoring (11).

Chiefs offense: overall (16), rush (5), pass (13), scoring (15).

Chiefs defense: overall (8), rush (22), pass (18), scoring (4).

Turnover differential: Texans plus-10; Chiefs plus-6.

Texans player to watch

Derek Stingley became the first cornerback in Texans history to earn first-team All-Pro honors last week and joined J.J. Watt as the only two defensive players to make the team. Stingley had two interceptions, five passes defensed and forced a fumble Saturday against the Chargers. The third overall pick in the 2022 draft led a dominant defensive performance that intercepted Justin Herbert a career-high four times, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Stingley’s big game came after he had five interceptions and ranked second in the NFL with a career-high 18 passes defensed in the regular season.

Chiefs player to watch

Everything the Chiefs do starts with Patrick Mahomes, who is 15-3 in the playoffs and is 6-0 in the divisional round. He was excellent in a win over Houston the week before Christmas, throwing for 260 yards and a touchdown while running for 33 yards and another score on a bad ankle. He also enters the playoffs on a tear, having thrown for 1,524 yards with 11 touchdowns and no picks over his final six regular-season games — all of them wins.

Key matchup

Houston defensive ends Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter against the Kansas City offensive tackles. Anderson had 12 1/2 sacks to tie for fourth most in the NFL in the regular season, and Hunter was right behind with 12. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have struggled all season at left tackle, and could opt to put left guard Joe Thuney there — as they did late in the regular season — or start D.J. Humphries, a former Pro Bowl tackle who has appeared in just two games this season and struggled mightily against Denver in Week 18. Right tackle has not been much better with Jawaan Taylor tied for the second-most penalties in the NFL this season.

Key injuries

Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), guard Shaq Mason (knee), offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (ankle) and WR Robert Woods (hip) missed practice this week. DE Denico Autry (knee) and TE Dalton Schultz (shoulder) were limited.

The Chiefs are healthy after they were able to rest everybody of consequence in Week 18 with nothing to play for in Denver. They also could have DB Jaylen Watson back for the first time after he injured his left ankle against San Francisco on Oct. 20.

Series notes

The Chiefs have won four straight in the series beginning with a 51-31 win in Houston in the divisional round of the playoffs of the 2019 season, when they proceeded to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles under Andy Reid. They also won in Houston in the wild-card round in the 2015 season. The Texans have not beaten the Chiefs since a 31-24 victory at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 13, 2019. That is also their only win over the Chiefs since the 2016-17 season.

Stats and stuff

The Texans are in the divisional round for a second straight season and the sixth time overall while a win will put them in the AFC championship for the first time. … Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is the fifth coach since 2000 to win a playoff game in each of his first two seasons. … QB C.J. Stroud is the sixth quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first two seasons and the first QB in Texans history to win two playoff games. … Houston RB Joe Mixon had 106 yards and a TD last week and has 701 yards of offense in eight playoff games. … Texans WR Nico Collins had 1,006 yards receiving in the regular season and 122 with a TD against the Chargers to set the franchise record for most yards receiving in a playoff game. He has at least five catches in each of his three playoff games and a TD catch in two of three. … Texans TE Dalton Schultz had a TD reception in his previous meeting with Kansas City. … Houston DE Danielle Hunter has a sack in each of his three road playoff games. … Texans DE Will Anderson had two passes defensed and 1 1/2 sacks against the Chargers. He has a tackle for loss in each of his three playoff games. Houston S Eric Murray had seven tackles and returned an interception 38 yards for his first career TD last week. … CB Kamari Lassiter joined Watt as the only rookies in Texans history with an interception in a playoff game after he picked off Herbert in the second quarter last week. … Chiefs coach Andy Reid is one win away from 300. The only other coaches to reach that mark are Don Shula, George Halas and Bill Belichick. … Reid has 26 postseason wins, second only to Belichick with 31. … Mahomes has the fifth-most postseason TD passes with 41. He has the second-highest completion rate at 67.9 percent. … Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has an NFL-record 165 catches in the playoffs. He has 1,903 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns, both second to Jerry Rice (2,245 yards and 22 TDs). … Mahomes has a franchise-record 524 yards rushing in the postseason. RB Isiah Pacheco is second with 495.

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The Associated Press