Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce connected on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass while Harrison Butker booted three field goals Saturday as the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs subdued the No. 4 Houston Texans 23-14 to earn home-field advantage for the AFC title game.
Kansas City will play either Baltimore or Buffalo, who meet Sunday night in Orchard Park, N.Y., on January 26 for a trip to the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Houston bows out in the divisional round for the second straight season.
The Chiefs led just 13-12 when Mahomes, who was falling down as he threw the ball, found Kelce in the middle of the end zone for an 11-yard scoring strike with 11:52 remaining in the game. It was the highlight of an efficient performance for Mahomes, who hit 16 of 25 passes for 177 yards.
Butker added the team’s last points on a 27-yard field goal with 4:38 left. The Texans tacked on a safety when Kansas City punter Matt Araiza ran out of the end zone with 11 seconds on the clock.
C.J. Stroud connected on 19 of 28 attempts for 245 yards for Houston but its only touchdown was Joe Mixon’s 13-yard run with 4:36 left in the third quarter, capping a drive of 10:24.
Playing their key players for the first time since a Week 17 win at Pittsburgh, Kansas City scored three of the first four times it touched the ball while keeping Houston out of the end zone during a first half in which the Texans gained 51 more total yards.
Butker connected on 32 and 36-yard field goals to cap the Chiefs’ first two possessions, while Houston countered via Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 30-yard field goal on its first drive. That made it 6-3 Kansas City going to the second quarter.
Mahomes found Kelce open over the middle for a 49-yard gain on which he broke two weak attempts at tackling to set up the half’s lone touchdown. Kareem Hunt scored on a high-stepping 1-yard run with 4:36 left before halftime.
Fairbairn got points on the board with 16 seconds remaining, booming a 48-yard field goal. He also missed two field goals, including one that was blocked by Kansas City’s Leo Chenal with 1:46 left.
Andy Reid of the Chiefs became the fourth coach to accumulate 300 wins, including the postseason. The others are Don Shula (347), Bill Belichick (333) and George Halas (324).
