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Game Recap: Chiefs Defeat Texans, 30-0, Advance to Divisional Round of NFL Playoffs from The Mothership

The Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans, 30-0, from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, Saturday afternoon to advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Travis Kelce led the way for the Chiefs with 8 receptions for 128 yards receiving while the Kansas City defense forced five Houston turnovers to post the first NFL playoff shutout since 2005.

Knile Davis started the NFL playoffs with a bang when he returned the opening kickoff for 106 yards and a touchdown, giving the Chiefs a 7-0 lead just 11 seconds into the game. It was the second longest kickoff return in NFL playoff history.

Chiefs vs. Texans: 10 Observations from The Mothership

For the first time since 1994 and spanning eight straight attempts at this, the Chiefs won a playoff game, and they did it in convincing fashion, shutting out the Texans 30-0 in the AFC Wild Card game. It was the first shutout in a playoff game in more than a decade.

The Chiefs mission was to dominate on Saturday afternoon and that's exactly what they did. They forced 4 first-half turnovers and 5 in total by the Texans offense, got pressure from everywhere on Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer and raced out to an early lead from, quite literally, the opening kickoff.

It was the day Chiefs fans deserved and it left them with plenty of moments to cheer and celebrate throughout the entire game.

Enjoy this Chiefs Kingdom, you deserve it.

Chiefs Head to New England Saturday For Divisional Weekend from The Mothership

The Chiefs will play the Patriots next Saturday, January 16, at 3:35 p.m. CT. The game, which will be broadcasted on CBS, will mark the first meeting between the two teams since the Patriots visited Arrowhead Stadium for Monday Night Football in September of 2014. The Chiefs won that game, 41-14.

KCChiefs.com Videos: Chiefs vs. Texans Wild Card: Kansas City Highlights

The Chiefs' drought is over, and now who can be sure what's next? from The Kansas City Star

Hali smiled. I suggested it must feel particularly good washing away those past frustrations this way, squashing them, like a wrecking ball through a brick wall. If the uniforms were reversed, and it were the Chiefs on the other side, losing a home game while the quarterback put on one of the all-time worst performances in playoff history would fit nicely along with a list of other losses that we don't need to get into here. After all of that, it must feel especially fulfilling being on this side of that.

Hali laughed.

"I'm not saying that," he said. "You said that. Not me."

Well, yes. That's exactly what I'm saying.

Players happy to end playoff drought, keep championship goals alive from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs ended that drought by defeating the Texans, 30-0, in the venue next to the old Astrodome, the site of the last playoff won against the Oilers on Jan. 16, 1994.

Stephenson wasn't aware of the history because he is a member of the team. There is more to it for him because of where he was raised.

"We're happy about it, especially me," Stephenson said of Saturday's win. "I'm from Kansas City."

While the native of Blue Springs, Mo., was excited to come away with a win, Stephenson said he and his teammates have loftier aspirations.

"It's a big deal, but we got bigger goals in mind," he said. "We're going to celebrate with the city, but it's not good enough for us. We want more."

Chiefs erase 22 years of playoff stink with shutout win over Texans from ESPN

The Chiefs lost playoff games in every conceivable manner during their eight-game postseason losing streak. They lost heartbreakers, blowouts and everything in between.

The Chiefs shed themselves of this heavy burden in a big way Saturday when they finally busted through. They needed no comeback or late-game heroics to get the job done. They took a lead they wouldn't relinquish 11 seconds into the game when Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown.

About 60 minutes of football, they washed away 22 years and eight games' worth of playoff failure in a franchise-cleansing 30-0 victory over the Houston Texans.

Chiefs beat Texans 30-0 for first playoff win since 1994 from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

The Chiefs had enough points to win after jumping ahead 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and they used relentless pressure, five turnovers and a ball-control offense to dominate the Houston Texans 30-0 in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

They were especially cognizant of not letting up after blowing a 28-point lead in a loss to the Colts in their last playoff appearance in 2013.

"What happened to us a couple years ago, everybody remembers that even the coaches included, so our entire mentality is about finishing," quarterback Alex Smith said. "The mentality doesn't change."

Chiefs snap playoff losing streak with 30-0 win over Texans from The Kansas City Star

It was the second disappointing loss a Kansas City team has dealt a Houston team in the last three months. In October, in the very same city, the Royals rallied back from a four-run deficit against the Astros in Game 4 of the American League Division Series to stave off elimination. The Royals, of course, went on to win the World Series for the first time since 1985.

Now, it's still too early to say whether the Chiefs will capture a crown of their own, which would be their first since 1969. The Chiefs will travel to New England, 12-4, for a 3:35 p.m. Saturday kickoff in the next round, and the injury to Maclin, if significant, would be a seriously blow to an increasingly explosive offense.

But one thing is for sure; after rebounding from a 1-5 start to win their first playoff game in 22 years - in convincing fashion, no less - no one can doubt the Chiefs' resilience, a trait they can proudly say they share with their next-door neighbors.

A kick return TD to start, a defensive finish result in Chiefs dominating Texans 30-0 from Chiefs Digest

They had lost their last eight games in the playoffs, a distinction that tied with Detroit for the longest losing streak in NFL postseason history.

"I didn't feel it, but I know how important it is," Reid said of ending the franchise's January losing streak. "When you get to the playoffs and in the first round things don't go well, it rips your heart out; I've been on both sides of that, including the first year we were here. I'm happy for the Hunt family and the fans of Kansas City. They are unbelievable."

From the game's first play when Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown, the Chiefs held the reigns of the wildcard matchup, never letting the Texans think there was any chance they could win the game.

Knile Davis up, nobody down in Chiefs victory from ESPN

DOWN

Nobody is down when a team wins a road playoff game by 30 points.

Turnovers pave way to Chiefs' playoff triumph from The Kansas City Star

The boos for Hoyer and the offense grew louder with each turnover. But Texans' coach Bill O'Brien didn't pull his quarterback like he did when Hoyer was ineffective in the season-opening loss to the Chiefs.

The Chiefs continued feasting on the mistakes, Peters said, because that's how they play.

"We wanted to go out there and just play our style of football," said Peters, who had eight interceptions during the regular season. "We wanted to get after the quarterback and make our plays in the backfield."

Long-awaited playoff win sends Chiefs fans into ecstasy from Chiefs Digest

But just because the playoff losing streak is over doesn't mean Chiefs fans are satisfied.

"It's great they went to Super Bowl I and it's great they went to Super Bowl IV, but they need to make a deep run," Randy Moseley from Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., said.

Daly believes the Chiefs can make a run for it.

"Andy Reid's opened up Alex Smith," he said of making it further into the playoffs. "Give him the keys to the car and let him drive it. Let him drive it home. I believe I'm going to ride in that car with them all the way home. Absolutely."

Alex Smith is efficient and effective from Chiefs Digest

Accuracy Chief

Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards. His 77 percent completion percentage was the highest in a game in Chiefs postseason history, breaking the mark of 70.6 percent set by Len Dawson against the Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

Smith did throw an interception on his sixth pass of the game. He had thrown 119 passes in the postseason before throwing his first interception, the longest streak to start a career in NFL history, surpassing the mark of 115 set by Jeff Hostetler. Smith has 10 touchdown passes and one interception in his postseason career.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce comes up big against Texans, again from The Kansas City Star

His eight receptions for 128 yards rank with some of the best performances by a Chiefs player in the postseason.

The number of catches tied a team playoff record, and only two Chiefs have exceeded his yardage in a playoff game.

Kelce couldn't explain it.

"They're a very good defense," he said. "Up front they're as stout as they come. In the secondary they've got some smart players."

Yet the Alex Smith to Kelce connection burned the Texans' defense for the second time this season.

Chiefs take Watt-age out of Texans from Chiefs Digest

"We had a heck of a game plan," left guard Jeff Allen said. "(Right tackle) Donald (Stephenson) and (left tackle) Eric Fish(er) did a great job of kind of getting after him, stopping him from getting started."

Stephenson said it took "a lot of hard work" from everyone, not just the offensive line, to hold Watt in check the second time around.

"The receivers did some chipping, the tight end did some chipping, Alex (Smith) did a good job of getting rid of the ball, me and Fish(er) fought our butt off to block him," Stephenson said. "And all that put together, we knew that was what it was going to take to negate him."

It was also a matter of the Chiefs fighting fire with fire.

"He's a great player," Stephenson said. "I have all the respect in the world for him; nobody plays harder up front. We knew were going to have to match his intensity."

Marcus Peters and Chiefs get last laugh over Texans from The Kansas City Star

The day before the Chiefs' Wild Card playoff game at Houston on Saturday, Texans star receiver DeAndre Hopkins was not shy about how he'd like to be covered.

"I hope he follows me," Hopkins told ESPN reporter Tiffany Blackmon, referring to Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters.

Peters did not follow Hopkins, it turns out. The Chiefs don't move their corners much, and Peters manned his typical left corner position. But Peters, the Chiefs' Pro Bowl rookie, still got the last laugh as he picked off one of four passes thrown by Houston quarterback Brian Hoyer in a 30-0 win.

"Man, we were just aggressive," Peters said. "We wanted to go out there and play our style of football. We wanted to get after the quarterback and make our plays in the backfield."

Chiefs' Jeremy Maclin suffers knee injury in win over Texans from Chiefs Digest

"You never want to see somebody go down," quarterback Alex Smith said. "We know how much Jeremy means to us."

Chiefs medical personnel rushed on the field and immediately looked at Maclin's right leg. He got up from the ground with help, but did not put pressure on his right leg as team staffers took him to the bench area.

A team doctor stayed with Maclin while another member of the Chiefs staff waved for the cart, which took Maclin inside the tunnel to the locker room.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game Maclin suffered a strained knee and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.

Chiefs finally find relief from drought, but potential loss of Jeremy Maclin presents challenge from The Kansas City Star

So what happens from here with Maclin, who this season set a team regular-season receivers record with 87 catches, is anyone's guess as of late Saturday night.

And replacing him wouldn't be simple.

"We've got capable players," said receiver Jason Avant, who also was Maclin's teammate in Philadelphia. "But there's no substitute for Jeremy Maclin."

AFC divisional matchups set: Chiefs will head to New England from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

The Chiefs beat up on Tom Brady and the Patriots in a 41-14 victory.

Brady was 14 of 23 for 159 yards, one TD and two interceptions. Jimmy Garoppolo finished the game and there was some talk he should replace Brady as the starter. But the Patriots dominated the rest of the season and won their fourth Super Bowl.

While the Chiefs are the hottest team in the NFL, the injury-riddled Patriots stumbled to the finish.

Why the Kansas City Chiefs can beat the New England Patriots from ESPN

They're great on the road: The Chiefs are a confident bunch when they go on the road -- and for good reason. They've won seven of the 10 games they've played outside of Kansas City this season. They've played six of those 10 games against teams that made the playoffs. The Chiefs have been a better team on the road than at home this season by many statistical measures as well. Whatever distractions that tend to trip up most road teams don't seem to have an effect on the Chiefs.

Chiefs end playoff drought with wire-to-wire trouncing of Texans from The Houston Chronicle

Starting with the first play, when Missouri City-born Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards, giving the Chiefs all the offense they'd need on the day.

"It split like the Red Sea," Davis said of his unfettered sprint to the end zone. "It was just great blocking by my teammates. ... That let us breathe a little bit, and it quieted the stadium."

The stadium was at its most hostile, however, after Fisher shoved Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt into the turf from behind in the third quarter, after Watt already had fallen to his knees. Watt was helped to the sidelines, and Fisher immediately became NRG Stadium enemy No. 1.

"I'm not sure what happened," Fisher said. "He's a relentless player. You literally have to finish every play with that guy. That's where he makes his plays - when guys give up on him, and the play ain't over.

"I didn't know what was going on behind me, all I know is I had to finish the play."

The Chiefs, who haven't lost since the Royals won the World Series, are inspired by the baseball team's run from The Houston Chronicle

"After the Royals went on their little run, we kind of got the same attitude that they do," offensive tackle Eric Fisher said. "Coming up short last year for them (in the playoffs), and for them to do what they did this year ... we're just trying to follow suit. This is awesome for the town of Kansas City."

Five things we learned from the Texans' playoff loss to the Chiefs from The Houston Chronicle

Even J.J. Watt is human. He likely will again be the defensive player of the year, based on the regular season, but he was hurt the last few weeks of the season, injured again Saturday to the point he missed much of the second half and couldn't overcome the Chiefs' disciplined blocking scheme. He also failed to score from the Kansas City 2 after taking the snap in the wildcat, no thanks to the blocking of Vince Wilfork and the offensive line.

Texans QB Brian Hoyer on his performance: ‘This was a bad day' from The Houston Chronicle

An emotional Hoyer shook his head in disgust as he trudged off the field after the interception to Mauga that transpired with the Texans trailing just 13-0 and threatening to make it a one-score ballgame. Standing on the sideline, Texans coach Bill O'Brien was visibly angry and muttered a few choice words to himself.

"Unfortunately, I picked the wrong time to have probably the worst game," said Hoyer, who was accountable for his miscues and answered every question after the Texans' debacle. "The biggest thing for me is to stand up in front of you guys and own up to it and learn from it. I really think that's the only way you can go about it.

"It's disappointing. It's embarrassing. Bad things happen in life. Obviously in my football career, this was a bad day, but I'll learn from it and always try to get better."

Texans fall hard in 30-0 Wild Card loss from HoustonTexans.com

The Texans found themselves in 7-0 hole before the offense ever took the field Saturday. On the opening kickoff, Knile Davis scored on a 106-yard return. 

It didn't get easier as Hoyer and the Texans offense struggled in the first half. Despite four turnovers, the Texans defense allowed just two field goals, both from 49 yards, and allowed just 1-of-6 on third down conversions.

Patriots to host Chiefs on Saturday in playoff opener from The Boston Globe

Last season, the Patriots were bludgeoned by the Chiefs, 41-14, in Week 4 on "Monday Night Football," but the Patriots circled the wagons after the loss - Tom Brady's status as the team's starting quarterback was questioned - winning seven straight and 10 of 12 en route to their fourth Super Bowl title.

Here's a look at the Chiefs:

Steelers' win sets up Chiefs-Patriots playoff tilt from The Boston Herald

The Chiefs, by virtue of their 30-0 rout of the Texans and the Steelers' win over the Bengals on Saturday, will come to Foxboro having won their last 11 games. Meanwhile, the Pats enter the postseason having won just two of their last six.

Expect to hear a lot this week about the Pats' blowout loss to the Chiefs on "Monday Night Football" last September, the low point of their season before a win over the Bengals the following week set the stage for a Super Bowl run.

An early look at some of the details of the Chiefs-Patriots matchup:

Patriots will host Chiefs in Divisional Round from CSNNE

One telling aspect of the Chiefs win? Andy Reid still makes some head-scratching coaching decisions. The Chiefs were up 13-0 at the break but it should have been even more lopsided had Reid not been aggressively conservative with some of his playcalling.

But the Chiefs do bring plenty to the table. They have a very good tight end in Travis Kelce, who went off on Saturday and a solid running game with a quarterback - Alex Smith - who takes care of the football and can make plays with his feet.

Defensively, they are strong up front and on the back end with Houston, Tamba Hali, safety Eric Berry and corner Marcus Peters.

Patriots To Host Kansas City Chiefs In Divisional Playoff Round from CBS Boston

The 12-4 Patriots did not face the 11-5 Chiefs this year, but they did meet last year in what ultimately served as the low point of the Patriots' season. In Week 4, the Patriots flew to Kansas City for a Monday night matchup. The Chiefs won, 41-14, in a game so lopsided that Tom Brady ended up benched in the fourth quarter.

New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs: AFC's hottest team visits Gillette Stadium in divisional round from MassLive

Kansas City rolled Houston, 30-0, in the first game Saturday. The Chiefs will bring an 11-game winning streak to Gillette next weekend.

Quick pertinent info on the Chiefs:

**Over the course of their 11-game streak, the Chiefs have trailed in just 7:28 of the 330 second half minutes they've played.

Why the Chiefs should want to play the Patriots in the divisional round from The Washington Post

The Chiefs split their meetings with the Broncos this season, but Kansas City matches up better against New England. Not only did Bill Belichick's team stumble to the finish line of the regular season, losing two of its last three games and hemorrhaging players by the snap — but the loss of leading rusher LeGarrette Blount left a void where a running threat used to be. Wide receiver Julian Edelman and tackle Sebastian Vollmer may not be available next week, either.

Why the New England Patriots can beat the Kansas City Chiefs from ESPN

Protecting the football: The Chiefs finished second in the NFL in turnover differential, at plus-14 (29 takeaways, 15 giveaways), which is a big part of their winning formula. That trend continued in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Kansas City's 29 takeaways were the fifth most in the NFL in the regular season, but this will be a case of iron on iron, as the Patriots had a league-low 14 giveaways all year. No team protects the football better than New England.

Chiefs End 22-Year Run of Playoff Futility by Thrashing the Texans from The New York Times

The Chiefs needed just 11 seconds to take the lead when Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown, the second longest in playoff history.

"It was quiet in the stadium," Davis said. "It was just surreal."

Then it turned into a slugfest. The Chiefs moved the ball more effectively, but they missed a prime opportunity to score when Smith's pass to Maclin was tipped and intercepted with a little less than seven minutes left in the first quarter. It was Smith's first postseason interception.

Smith also sailed a pass just beyond the reach of wide receiver Albert Wilson that would have resulted in an easy score.

But the Chiefs made the Texans pay for Hoyer's sloppiness. They converted two of his interceptions into 49-yard field goals by Cairo Santos.

Chiefs know they might be without another offensive star from USA Today

The Chiefs were discounted and largely forgotten after losing star running back Jamaal Charles to a season-ending knee injury Oct. 11. But after dropping to 1-5 the following week, they haven't lost since. They have reeled off 11 straight victories, including their first playoff win since 1994 with the 30-0 victory over the Houston Texans in Saturday's wild-card round.

Most impressive — and most encouraging for their playoff hopes — was that they did not flinch after losing Maclin, who led the Chiefs with 87 receptions for 1,088 yards. Quarterback Alex Smith finished off an 11-play, 94-yard drive by finding Maclin's replacement, rookie Chris Conley, in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

In blog post, Chiefs' Jamaal Charles expresses admiration for teammates from The Kansas City Star

This has to be a particularly bittersweet day for Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles.

The Chiefs are playing the Houston Texans in an AFC wild-card game, but he's still recovering from a knee injury and won't plays.

Still, Charles wrote a blog post on his website on Friday and expressed his happiness and admiration for his teammates.

Here is how it starts:

Elizabeth Smith, Alex's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know from Heavy

It was football that brought Elizabeth and Alex Smith together. It was also football that brought the couple to Kansas City. From their days working for rival NFL franchises, to raising a family together in Kansas City, there is a lot to learn about the Smiths. Many people know about the success Alex has had on the football field for the Chiefs but few know about his wife, Elizabeth, who holds the family together.

There is a lot to learn about the former Raiders cheerleader and mother of two. Heavy is here to help you get to know Elizabeth Smith.

Here is what you need to know:

Brian Hoyer had a historically bad game against the Chiefs from FOX Sports

The Chiefs led 13-0 at the half while Hoyer was 7 of 14 for 61 yards and had a quarterback rating of 22.3. He added another interception in the second half, and his final line was pretty brutal: 15 of 34, 136 yards, and four interceptions. That's a quarterback rating of 15.9.

Somewhere, Ryan Mallett is probably smiling.

Eagles set up interview with Giants' Coughlin from Philly.com

They have also spoken to offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and running backs coach Duce Staley. They are planning to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson on Sunday, according to multiple reports. Pederson is a former Eagles assistant coach and quarterback.

Of that group, only Shurmur has head-coaching experience. They have far different profiles than Coughlin, who has spent 20 seasons as an NFL head coach. He went 170-150 with the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, and he's 12-7 in the postseason.

NFL: Cairo Santos, feet that make history! from Torcedores [translated from the original Portuguese]

He finished the regular season with 129 points, again the best scorer of the team and the sixth in the NFL. With 12 yesterday, three field goals and three extra points, reached 141.

The next opponent of the Chiefs is the mighty New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.Cairo already joined the sports history as the first Brazilian kicker in NFL playoffs (Breno Giacominni, Offensive Tackle, he won the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013 season and currently plays for the New York Jets, shirt 68), will be able to do more next weekend week? I twist the Giants, but we have a particularly player to cheer, then I will be Chiefs as far as the Brazilian's feet to get reach.

The Chiefs crush the Texans, but lose Duvernay-Tardif from ICI Radio Canada [translated from the original French]

The Chiefs won the first playoff game in 22 years and did it with panache. They humiliated the Texans before their fans by the score of 30-0 on Saturday in Houston.

Duvernay-Tardif, who suffered a concussion, left the game early in the second quarter.