KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Patrick Mahomes stalked up and down the sideline like a field marshal rallying his troops, the brilliant young quarterback imploring the Kansas City Chiefs to stay together even as the Houston Texans were on the verge of taking them apart.
The Chiefs already faced a 24-0 hole, bigger than any deficit they had overcome in franchise history.
The biggest thing I was preaching, Mahomes said later, was, Lets go do something special. Everybody is counting us out. Lets go out there and play by play put it out there. And play by play, we did what we were supposed to do.
Beginning with the first of his five touchdown passes, Mahomes and the Chiefs slowly chipped away at Houstons seemingly insurmountable lead. They continued to pick up momentum, outscoring the Texans 28-0 during the second quarter alone, and eventually reeled off 41 consecutive points before cruising the rest of the way to a 51-31 victory Sunday that propelled Kansas City back to the AFC championship game for the second consecutive season.
In doing so, the Chiefs (13-4) became the first team in NFL history to win a playoff game by at least 20 points after trailing by at least 20. They matched the fourth-biggest comeback in playoff history while winning a postseason game in back-to-back seasons for the first time. Travis Kelce and Damien Williams scored three touchdowns apiece, joining the 49ers Jerry Rice and Ricky Waters in Super Bowl 29 as the only teammates to score that many times in a postseason game.
Meanwhile, Mahomes led by example as much as by voice. He finished with 321 yards passing, becoming the first player in postseason history with at least 300 yards passing and five touchdowns while running for at least 50 more yards.
You saw him going up and down the bench, he was talking to everybody, Just settle down, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. As a head coach, you cant ask for more than that. When hes the leader of your team and hes going, Hey, were going to be fine. Lets not wait for the fourth quarter. Lets go! And he did that.
Now, after losing to the Patriots in overtime in last years conference title game, the Chiefs are back on the brink of their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years. They will host Tennessee next Sunday in a rematch from earlier this season after the Titans upset Lamar Jackson and the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.
Weve already played them and we know theyre a tough team, Mahomes said. Theyre a team that battles all the way until the end. Theyre a team thats really hot, playing really good football right now, so we know its going to take our best effort. And, whatever way, weve got to find a way to win.
Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns while running for another, but not even his heroics could bail out the Texans (11-7) after their calamitous second quarter and dismal third. The result: The reborn Houston franchise is 0-4 in the divisional round and has never won a road playoff game.
I definitely thought we were going to have to score more than 24, said Texans coach Bill OBrien, who made a series of debatable calls during the collapse. I think that theyre, obviously, a very explosive team and it just didnt work out.
The Chiefs certainly gave Houston a chance to end their frustrating playoff streak in the first quarter.
On defense, Kansas City blew coverage on Kenny Stills on the opening possession, allowing him to walk into the end zone from 54 yards. On offense, they wasted timeouts, dropped a series of easy passes and managed just 46 yards. And on special teams, the Chiefs had a punt blocked for a score and fumbled a return that set up another touchdown.
Indeed, the Texans kept humming right along after finishing on a 22-3 run to beat Buffalo last week, while the mountain of miscues made by the Chiefs made them only the fourth home playoff team to trail 21-0 after the first quarter.
Things turned around on a series of plays and a call by OBrien in particular that will be debated for a while.
