Chiefs pull stunning comeback vs. Texans, advance to second straight AFC title game
The Kansas City Chiefs took the Houston Texans’ best punches in the first quarter, falling behind 24-0 with self-inflicted wounds.
Then they shook off that shaky start, roaring back with 28 second-quarter points to take a 28-24 lead at halftime. And from there, the Chiefs never looked back, scoring 41 straight points to secure a 51-31 win that has them one game away from Super Bowl LIV.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid credited his players for keeping it together during the stunning early deficit.
“The guys had their mind set for a battle and they put it down,” Reid said. “When you’re down 24-0, if you don’t have a good locker room, things can go the wrong way for you. The guys all hung together.”
The Chiefs became the first team in NFL history — regular season or playoffs — to lead at halftime after trailing by 24 or more points. Sunday also marked the biggest comeback ever for the Chiefs, surpassing a 21-0 deficit in their 2016 season opener against the Chargers.
Kansas City’s first two drives ended on dropped passes by tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Demarcus Robinson. The Texans, already up 7-0 on a Deshaun Watson-to-Kenny Stills strike for 54 yards, scored again on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.
The Chiefs’ early special-teams play was bad. Receiver Tyreek HIll muffed a punt inside the 10-yard line and the Texans recovered at the 6. Houston extended the lead to 21-0 on Watson’s TD pass to tight end Darren Fells. A field goal soon made it 24-0, but the Chiefs kept their cool and never panicked.
“It was just a matter of settling it down and kind of calming the storm,” Reid said.
The Chiefs unleashed a flurry of points in the second quarter, with three touchdowns in a span of three minutes, 24 seconds.
The first came after rookie Mecole Hardman’s 58-yard kick return to set up the Chiefs’ offense at the Texans’ 42-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Patrick Mahomes found running back Damien Williams for a 17-yard touchdown and the Chiefs’ first score of the game.
Hardman’s play seemed to ignite the host team. Sunday marked the second straight game in which Hardman jump-started the Chiefs’ offense with an electrifying kickoff return, the first coming on a 104-yard return for a touchdown in their regular-season finale.
“I think in these games, especially the playoffs, special teams is really critical,” Chiefs defensive tackle Mike Pennel said. “To have an All-Pro guy back there, he can change the tide at any moment and he’s been doing that. He’s not playing like a rookie.”
Chiefs guard Stefen Wisniewski agreed.
“It was huge,” Wisniewski said. “Down 24-0, we needed a spark and that definitely gave us a spark. So our offense was like, ‘Let’s go.’”
Houston committed two mistakes on special teams and the Chiefs took advantage of both. The first occurred on a fake punt attempt with the Texans facing a fourth-and-4 at their own 31-yard line. Texans safety Justin Reid took a direct snap and attempted to break out on the right side of the line. Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen sniffed out the play and stopped Reid for a 2-yard gain.
“When he’s not playing in the secondary like he did today, he’s one of our best special-teams players, if not the best one,” Reid said of Sorensen. “We put him in those kinds of situations and he made a big play. That was a big one.”
Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce for a 5-yard touchdown three plays later to cut the Texans’ lead to 10 points, at 24-14.
“All we were preaching was ... let’s do something special,” Mahomes said in the postgame TV interview. “Everyone is counting us out. Let’s just keep fighting, one play at a time.”
On the ensuing kickoff, Texans returner DeAndre Carter fumbled after getting hit by Sorensen and linebacker Ben Niemann. Sorensen was credited with forcing the fumble. Rookie running back Darwin Thompson snatched the ball out of the air and returned it to the Texans’ 6-yard line. Mahomes then found Kelce for a 6-yard touchdown, cutting the lead three, 24-21.
The Chiefs capped the second-quarter scoring blitz with Mahomes’ fourth touchdown — another pass to Kelce, who hauled in a short 5-yard score to give the Chiefs a 28-24 lead.
“It’s all about resiliency,” linebacker Damien Wilson said. of the team’s incredible comeback. “It’s about having it inside of you to keep on fighting regardless of circumstance. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys for not packing it in and just continuing to fight, trusting our preparation.”
Kelce became the first player with three receiving touchdowns in a single quarter during a playoff game in the Super Bowl era. He finished with 10 catches for 134 yards, giving him 559 in the playoffs in his career and the most in team history. Kelce entered the game needing 57 yards receiving to surpass Otis Taylor’s team record of 481.
Mahomes completed 23 of 35 passes for 321 yards and five touchdown for a 134.6 passer rating, adding 53 yards rushing on seven carries. He is the first player in league history to get 300-plus yards passing, five or more touchdowns and 50-plus yards rushing in a playoff game.
With Mahomes leading the way, the Chiefs scored a touchdown on seven straight drives, converting on seven of eight red-zone opportunities.
“Thank God we got Pat Mahomes,” defensive end Frank Clark said. “At the end of the day, we got an MVP quarterback back there. It ain’t too much pressure on you. The offense did their job, stepped it up. Defense, we held it down. Period.”
The Chiefs allowed Houston 442 total yards in the game but held the Texans in check on the scoreboard after the first quarter. Watson completed 31 of 52 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had nine catches for 118 yards.
Wilson paced the defense with eight tackles. Clark totaled four tackles, three sacks and three quarterback hits. Sorensen chipped in with seven tackles, and linebacker Dorian O’Daniel and cornerback Rashad Fenton each recorded a sack.
Clark said the win served as vindication after the Texans beat the Chiefs in Week 6, a game in which Houston totaled 192 yards and running back Carlos Hyde had 116. Hyde talked some trash during the first game but rushed for just 44 yards on 13 carries this time around.
“You all see what Carlos Hyde talking about, man,” Clark said. “You all see him talking about we can’t stop him and all that stuff, man.
“At the end of the day, our goal isn’t to stop him; it was to beat the team, and that’s what we did. We beat the team, we stopped him. He didn’t do (expletive).”
Reid secured his 13th career postseason victory, second-most among active NFL head coaches behind New England’s Bill Belichick, who has 31. Sunday’s win also gave the Chiefs a consecutive season with a home win during the AFC Divisional Round, the first time that’s happened in team history.
The Chiefs will play host to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday, Jan. 19, at Arrowhead Stadium, with the winner advancing to the face the NFC representative in Super Bowl LIV.
Equipped with a comeback of Sunday’s magnitude, this Chiefs team goes forward with a high level of confidence.
“We put up 51 points in three quarters,” Clark said. “When you can put up 51 points in three quarters, that explains the type of team you have.”
“We think we’re a championship team,” Wilson said. “A championship team is ready to face anything.”
This story was originally published January 12, 2020 at 5:42 PM.
