A look back at the 12 times Kansas City and Houston sports teams have met in playoffs
Most Kansas City sports fans wouldn’t consider Houston to be a major rival, but there’s quite a bit of history.
KC and Houston have met in the postseason in five major sports leagues through the years. The latest chapter will be written Saturday when the Chiefs play host to the Texans in an AFC Divisional playoff game.
But before that game, which kicks off at 3:35 p.m. at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, here’s a quick look back at the playoff history between Kansas City and Houston.
1981: Rockets defeat Kings in conference final
The Kings were in KC for 13 seasons (including three when the team split time in Omaha) and never made the NBA Finals. But they came close in 1981 when the Kings advanced to the Western Conference finals as the No. 5 seed.
The Kings were denied a shot at the NBA Finals when the Houston Rockets won the best-of-seven series in five games. KC’s only win came in Game 2 when Reggie King scored 31 points and Scott Wedman added 18 in an 88-79 victory at Kemper Arena.
Houston’s Moses Malone had 36 points and 11 rebounds in the clinching win in Game 5.
“We came a long way and it’s tough to lose like this,” Kings guard Otis Birdsong told reporters after the series.
Jan. 16, 1994: Chiefs 28, Houston Oilers 20
The Oilers’ time in Houston was marked by regular-season success and playoff failure. But things looked promising for the Oilers in the 1992 NFL season. They won the AFC Central with a 12-4 record and won 11 straight to end the season.
Houston crushed the Chiefs 30-0 in the regular season, but in the playoffs, Joe Montana threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as Kansas City rallied in the final period for a 28-20 victory at the Astrodome.
“This,” Chiefs defensive lineman Neil Smith said afterward, “was a great performance on all sides.”
Nov. 10, 2007: Dynamo 2, Wizards 0
Houston dashed the Wizards’ hopes of a return to the MLS Cup championship match with a win in the Western Conference finals.
The Dynamo scored goals in the 35th and 81st minutes, while the Wizards didn’t get a shot on goal in Houston.
“All credit to them,” Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad said afterward. “I hope they win next week. It’ll make us look better.”
Houston did win the MLS Cup the following week by beating New England 2-1.
Nov. 6, 2011: Dynamo 2, Sporting KC 0
Houston scored goals in the 53rd and 87th minutes and won the Western Conference Final match at Sporting Park. That again denied Kansas City a shot at playing in the MLS Cup final.
2012: Dynamo 2, Sporting KC 1
The Dynamo upset the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference by winning 2-0 at home, then holding Sporting KC to a 1-0 win in the return leg.
“This is going to hurt,” Sporting’s Matt Besler said after Houston advanced on the aggregate 2-1 score. “We didn’t get it done.”
2013: Sporting KC 2, Dynamo 1
After a scoreless draw in Houston, Sporting KC allowed a third-minute goal at home to Houston in the return leg. But C.J. Sapong leveled the match in the 14th minute and Dom Dwyer won it with a 63rd-minute goal in the Western Conference finals.
“We were excited (to play Houston),” Sapong said afterward. “We felt like we had unfinished business.”
Sporting KC later won the MLS Cup title.
2015: Royals beat Astros in ALDS
The Astros were six outs away from eliminating the Royals in the fourth game at Minute Maid Park when KC scored five runs in an epic eighth-inning rally and added a two-run homer in the ninth inning for a 9-6 victory.
“We love each other,” Alex Gordon said afterward. “We have fun together. And we fight together. That’s what we did today. We never gave up.”
Johnny Cueto threw a gem in Game 5 and Kendrys Morales punctuated a 7-2 series-clinching win with a three-run homer in the eighth inning. The Royals won the series 3 games to 2.
Jan. 9, 2016: Chiefs 30, Texans 0
Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown and the Chiefs never looked back, winning this one in dominating fashion.
The Chiefs had lost their previous eight playoff games before finally breaking through in Houston.
Alex Smith threw for 190 yards and a touchdown and Spencer Ware added a rushing score.
“After the Royals went on their little run, we have the same attitude they do — coming up short last year for them, that had to be terrible,” left tackle Eric Fisher said afterward. “So to do what they did this year, we’re just trying to follow suit. This has to be awesome for KC, for the town.”
Oct. 26, 2017: Dynamo 1, Sporting KC 0
After a scoreless 90 minutes, Houston’s Alberth Elis scored the winning goal in the 94th minute in Houston in the first round of the MLS playoffs.
“We gave everything we had,” coach Peter Vermes said afterward. “We left everything on the field — mental, physical, technical, tactical. I mean we put it all out there.
Jan. 12, 2020: Chiefs 51, Texans 31
The Chiefs kick-started their dynasty by falling behind by 24 points early in the second quarter against Houston in an AFC Divisional game.
But the Chiefs scored six straight touchdowns, five on Patrick Mahomes scoring passes, and crushed Houston at Arrowhead Stadium.
“The guys had their mind set for a battle and they put it down,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said afterward. “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.”
Oct. 16, 2022: Current 2, Dash 1
Kate Del Fava scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time as the Current beat the Dash 2-1 in Houston in the NWSL playoffs.
“When you have two teams so equally matched, there was going to be a game of fine margins,” Current coach Matt Potter said afterward. “It took somebody who was willing to do the work when it was really easy not to.”
The Current then won a semifinal match but fell to Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL championship game.
Nov. 26, 2023: Dymano 1, Sporting KC 0
Franco Escobar scored the lone goal in the 39th minute, ending Sporting Kansas City’s Cinderella playoff run in the Western Conference semifinals in Houston.
“We didn’t give the greatest version of ourselves,” Sporting KC’s Johnny Russell said afterward. “If you do that and go out, then you can live with it. But I think we fell short tonight.”
Sporting KC had pulled upsets in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 10:11 AM.
