Arrowhead Pride
Win and advance. That’s all that matters.
The Kansas City Chiefs came into Saturday’s Divisional round game on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium with just one goal in mind: to defeat the Houston Texans and advance to their seventh straight AFC Championship.
That’s exactly what they did. They controlled the game from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. Saturday’s 23-14 victory provided convincing proof that in the postseason, experience and composure are just as important as talent.
Suffering from multiple self-inflicted wounds, the Texans watched their playoff hopes bleed away. With just under two minutes remaining, the Chiefs watched the light go out of their eyes as they blocked the Texans’ last-ditch field-goal attempt.
Here are five things we learned as Kansas City continued its quest for glory.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub’s unit set the tempo for this game, starting with Nikko Remigio’s 63-yard return of the opening kickoff. That set up the Chiefs’ first field goal, establishing a lead the team would never relinquish.
The play put the Texans in a pressure cooker, forcing them to keep pace with Kansas City. It created a claustrophobic atmosphere in which the visiting team could not operate effectively.
Then in the final two minutes, the unit did just what it had done against the Denver Broncos in Week 10. As Houston lined up for a last-ditch field goal attempt, safety Justin Reid flew off the line to attract the attention of the Texans’ blockers, opening the way for linebacker Leo Chenal to block the attempt.
Then with seconds remaining, punter Matt Araiza skillfully chewed up as much time as possible in the end zone, deliberately allowing a safety the Chiefs could afford — rather than opening the door for a dangerous punt return.
Meanwhile, placekicker Harrison Butker scored on all five of his kicks.
On Saturday, Toub and his unit put on a clinic.
In what has become an annual tradition, Travis Kelce took his game to another level in the postseason, turning in his best game of the season as he and quarterback Patrick Mahomes did their impersonation of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, connecting in the biggest moments to keep the Texans in the rear-view mirror.
One of them might be one of the best throws in Mahomes’ illustrious career.
Kansas City’s players are household names for a reason: the bigger the stage — and the brighter the lights — the better they play.
Now that Kansas City has gotten Johnny Cage out of the way, it can focus on its upcoming fight against Goro. You can bet Kelce and Mahomes will be ready to take down whichever four-armed monster comes up next.
You can say that Houston’s offensive line is horrible — and maybe it is — but I’m not taking away any of the Chiefs’ flowers on this one: the...
