Kelce powers Chiefs over Texans, advances to seventh straight AFC title game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown, most of it going to best buddy Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to advance to the AFC championship game for the seventh consecutive season.

With girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite, Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards and a score, helping the Chiefs (16-2) keep alive their dream of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.

The Chiefs are the fourth team in NFL history to follow back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, and the three previous lost. They will try to change that trend at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend against the Bills or Ravens, who play on Sunday in Buffalo for a shot at dethroning the defending champs.

Mahomes improved 16-3 in the playoffs, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL history behind Tom Brady, and he is 7-0 in the divisional round. Mahomes also helped Andy Reid become the fourth NFL coach with 300 career wins.

Meanwhile, the Texans (11-8) still have never won in six divisional games. Twice they have lost to Kansas City.

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards but was sacked eight times. Joe Mixon, who had been questionable to play with an ankle injury, caught a couple of passes while running for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Texans kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, an extra-point try and had another field goal attempt blocked with 1:46 left, which would have kept Houston’s comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown, most of it going to best buddy Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to advance to the AFC championship game for the seventh consecutive season.

With girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite, Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards and a score, helping the Chiefs (16-2) keep alive their dream of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.

The Chiefs are the fourth team in NFL history to follow back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, and the three previous lost. They will try to change that narrative at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend against the Bills or Ravens, who play on Sunday in Buffalo for a shot at dethroning the defending champs.

Mahomes improved 16-3 in the playoffs, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL history behind Tom Brady, and he is 7-0 in the divisional round. Mahomes also helped Andy Reid become the fourth NFL coach with 300 career wins.

Meanwhile, the Texans (11-8) still have never won in six divisional games. Twice they have lost to Kansas City.

Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards but was sacked eight times. Joe Mixon, who had been questionable to play with an ankle injury, caught a couple of passes while running for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Texans kicker Kai’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, a PAT try and had another field-goal attempt blocked with 1:46 left, which would have kept their comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.

In truth, the Texans’ special teams were a mess right from the start. The Chiefs nearly opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown, a bizarre sequence during which heated Houston cornerback Kris Boyd nearly shoved his own coach to the ground.

The Texans held Kansas City to a couple of field goals early, but their defense was unable to stop them late in the first half, when the bruising Kareem Hunt barreled into the end zone to give the AFC West champions a 13-3 lead.

Houston managed a 48-yard field goal through cold, swirling winds to make it a one-possession game at the break, and that late kick seemed to have revived the AFC South champions when they returned to the field for the second half.

Stroud deftly led them on a 15-play, 82-yard drive that soaked up most of the third quarter, picking up all four of their third-down conversions, including one in which the QB scrambled to the sideline and absorbed a wicked hit. Mixon finished the drive with a 13-yard run, but Fairbairn’s extra point that would have tied the game was blown wide right.

That miss just might have swung the momentum the other way.

Just as they have so often in winning their last eight playoff games, the Chiefs responded with a time-consuming drive of their own. Mahomes connected with Kelce four times on the 81-yard march, including the 11-yard touchdown pass to his trusty tight end as the two-time NFL MVP was getting dragged to the turf by Houston’s Mario Edwards Jr.

The Texans had two opportunities to drive for a tying touchdown. But the first drive ended when Stroud was sacked by George Karlaftis on fourth down near midfield with about 10 minutes left. The second was stopped when Stroud misfired on back-to-back passes and Houston was forced to punt the ball away with just over seven minutes to go.

Kansas City proceeded to drive inside the Texans 10 and Harrison Butker’s field goal with 4:32 left put the game away.

Texans: LB Azeez Al-Shaair hurt his knee in the first half. He had been questionable to play this week with a knee injury.

Chiefs: SS Bryan Cook missed most of the first half while being evaluated for a concussion but returned to the game. … FS Justin Reid took a hard blow to the head breaking up a pass in the fourth quarter, but stayed in.

The Chiefs host the AFC title game a week from Sunday for the sixth time in seven years. They will play either the Bills, one of two teams to beat them in the regular season, or the Ravens, who lost in Kansas City in Week 1.