Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes combine to lead Kansas City into seventh-straight AFC title 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 Sunday (AEDT) to advance to the AFC championship game for a seventh-straight 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.
They become 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.
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Travis Kelce celebrates a touchdown. Getty
They will try to change that trend at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend against the Bills or Ravens, who play on Monday (AEDT) in Buffalo for a shot at dethroning the 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 and two of those losses have come against Kansas City.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards but was sacked eight times.
C.J. Stroud had a tough night at the office. Getty
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 less than two minutes remaining, which would have kept Houston's comeback hopes alive.
In truth, the Texans’ special teams were a mess right from the start as the Chiefs nearly opened the game with a kickoff return for a touchdown, a bizarre sequence during which heated Houston cornerback Kris Boyd shoved his own coach.
