Texans 14 vs 23 Chiefs, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Divisional Round

Chiefs defeat Texans 23-14
Chiefs beat Texans to advance to AFC Conference Championship: Game Summary
The Divisional Round matchup between AFC's Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans got off to a slow start, with both team's defenses keeping the others' out of the end zone for most of the first half. The Chiefs eventually found their momentum, but the Texans kept it a close game in the 3rd quarter. The last quarter was another story as the Chiefs dominated the Texans on both sides, finally winning the game 23-14.
Chiefs stars show out
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 177 passing yards and one touchdown. If you believe in Taylor Swift's voodoo magic, then it checks out that a good chunk of those yards were in favor of her boo, tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce caught seven of his eight targets for 117 yards, including one 49-yard catch and run and one 11-yard touchdown grab.
Texans stars fall short
Meanwhile, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards and no touchdowns. He had no interceptions but was sacked eight times (three for which George Karlaftis was responsible). Stroud injured his knee early on in the game and was able to continue after receiving some treatment on the sideline, but late in the game, he was hurt again and seen limping off the sideline.
Running back Joe Mixon had 18 carries for 88 yards and the Texans' one touchdown. Unfortunately for them, their usually reliable kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn had an off day dealing with all the cold wind in KC. He missed a 55-yard field goal attempt, an extra point attempt that would have tied the game, and had a field goal, which would have kept their hopes of winning alive, blocked with 1:46 left in the game.
What's next?
The Texans, like last year, have been eliminated in the Divisional Round. In the six Divisional games they've played in, they've never been able to make it past that point.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, will advance to the AFC title game for the seventh year in a row, just one behind the record-holding New England Patriots, who made it to eight straight in the Tom Brady era.
Mahomes has now tied Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL playoff history with a 16-3 record, behind only Brady. They will continue their quest to become the only NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls next week in the AFC Conference Championship. They will face either the Buffalo Bills or the Baltimore Ravens.
The Kansas City Chiefs ran out 23-14 winners over the Houston Texans but supporters across the country will be furious with an unusual late decision.
Fairbairn's blocked FG
To top off a terrible game that included a missed field goal and a missed extra point, Fairbairn had this field goal attempt blocked at the end of the game.
Stroud sacked by Karlaftis 3 times...
Karlaftis sacked Stroud three times during the game but none was more detrimintal than this one on 4th and 10.
Mahomes to Kelce
Mahomes made this impressive TD pass to Kelce as he was falling down to extend their lead in the fourth quarter.
Fairbairn's missed PAT
Fairbairn missed the extra point to keep it from being a tie game.
Mixon TD
This TD by Texans RB Joe Mixon in the second half kept the Texans in the game, but...
After defeating the Texans, the Chiefs will now face one of two teams in the AFC Conference Championship game next weekend.
End game - CHIEFS DEFEAT TEXANS!
And the CHIEFS will go to the AFC title game next week!
Stroud kneels and that's game
Butker kicks to the Chiefs 19 and Pierce takes it up 11 yards to the 21
Araiza ran it back 18 yards into the end zone for a SAFETY
SAFETY!
Araiza ran it back 18 yards into the end zone for a safety
Chiefs take second timeout
Mahomes takes the knee to run the clock down to 15 seconds and take it to 4th and 15
Texans take final timeout
Chiefs take over at their own 23
Hunt takes it up 4 yards - 2nd and 6
Chiefs' HicksRECOVERED it at the Chiefs 13 and ran it 10 yards to the 23
Fairbairn's field goal try was BLOCKED by Reid!
Stroud had to be helped to the sidelines and is clearly in pain
Stroud SACKED again by KARLAFTIS for a loss of 4 yards - 4th and 14
TWO-MINUTE WARNING
With just two minutes left in the game, the Texans are trailing the Chiefs 23-12. They have the ball at the Chiefs 13 at 3rd down and 10.
Stroud SACKED by Anudike-Uzomah for a loss of 8 yards - 3rd and 10
Stroud pass to Hutchinson is caught for 8 yards - 2nd and 2
Stroud pass to Collins is CAUGHT just in bounds with two defenders on him for 18 yards - 1st down at the Chiefs 13
Ruling on the field stands - Schultz caught the ball.
The Chiefs lose a timeout. 1st and 10 Texans at the 31.
Chiefs are challenging the call of the complete pass to Schultz. Andy Reid thinks Schultz didn't have complete control before stepping out of bounds.
Stroud pass deep to Schultz is caught for 18yards just before he goes out of bounds - 1st down at the Chiefs 31
Stroud SACKED by Conner for a loss of a yard - 2nd and 11
Stroud tosses the ball to Ogunbowale to avoid the sack, no gain - 2nd and 10
Stroud pass complete to Hutchinson for 18 yards - 1st down
Chiefs' Danna called for Neutral Zone Infraction, 5 yards - 3rd and 5
Stroud pass complete to Schultz for 6 yards - 3rd and 10
Stroud SACKED by Karlaftis again for a loss of 6 yards - 2nd and 16
Butker kicks to the end zone - touchback to Texans 30
The Chiefs got another chance to score after holding the Texans to 4th down. They got into the red zone but couldn't make it to the end zone. Butker made the 27-yard field goal instead and the Chiefs now lead by 11 points with 4:38 left to play.
CHIEFS FIELD GOAL!
Mahomes pass complete to Worthy for 9 yards, just short of the 1st down - 4th and 1
Texans take first timeout
Mahomes pass to Kelce is caught but he's tackled by Murray for no gain - 3rd and 10
Mahomes pass incomplete to Worthy - 2nd and 10
Hunt gets through again for another big run of 12 yards - 1st and 10 at the 18
Hunt pushes through for a big gain of 11yards to the Texans 30 - 2st down
Mahomes to Kelce complete for 4 yards - 2nd and 6
Townsend punts it to the Texans 45, out of bounds
Chiefs' Reid was injured during the last play
Stroud pass incomplete to Collins nearly picked - 4th and 6
Stroud pass incomplete to Collins, covered by McDuffie - 3rd and 6
Mixon pushes up for 4 yards - 2nd and 6
Araiza punts to the Texans 7 and Woods makes the fair catch
Mahomes gets rid of the ball just before Anderson makes the tackle and it's incomplete - 4th and 9
Mahomes pass to Worthy is caught but Hunter makes the tackle for no gain - 3rd and 9
Hunt picks up a yard, tackled by Al-Shaair and To'oTo'o - 2nd and 9
Texans went for it on 4th and 10 and Stroud got SACKED by Karlaftis for a loss of 16 yards
Chiefs will take over at the Texans 44
Stroud makes two more incomplete passes, to Wayne and Pierce - 4th down and 10 at the Chiefs 40
Stroud pass incomplete to Mixon - 2nd and 10
Stroud passes deep to Collins and he makes the catch for 24 yards - 1st down at the Chiefs 40
Stroud pass complete to Smith for 2 yards - 2nd and 8
Butker kicks to the Texans -2 and Hutchinson returns it 36 yards to the 34
Mahomes scrambled away on 3rd and goal and as he was falling to the ground, he made the pass to Kelce and he makes the catch 11 yards in the end zone for the touchdown. Butker's PAT is good and the Chiefs lead by 8 with just under 12 minutes left in the game.
CHIEFS TOUCHDOWN!
Mahomes scrambles for 2 yards to the Texans 11 - 3rd and goal
Illegal Shirt on Chiefs, declined
Mahomes SACKED by Anderson for a loss of 4 yards
Mahomes makes the pass to Kelce and he spins away to gain 18yards, tackled at the 8 by Bullock - 1st and goal
Hunt takes it up the middle for 8 yards - 2nd and 2
Hunt spins through for a gain of 3 yards - 1st down
Chiefs going for it on 4th and 1...
END THIRD QUARTER
That takes us to the end of the third quarter.
The Texans could have made it a tie game, but Fairbairn missed the extra point, so they trail by one point at the end of the third. The Chiefs were just held to 4th down at the Texans 37.
Mahomes pass to Gray is just short of the down - 4th and 1
Mahomes pass incomplete to Pacheco - 3rd and 4
Mahomes pass complete to Gray for 6 yards - 2nd and 4
Mahomes FUMBLES and recovers it for a gain of 9 yards
The Texans are called for Unnecessary Roughness on To'oTo'o, 15 yards
Mahomes pass to Kelce is caught and he runs up for 12yards - 1st down
Mahomes escapes and scrambles away for 3 yards - 3rd and 6
Pacheco runs it up 9 yards - 2nd and 9
Mahomes pass to Kelce is caught for 15 yards, but a Holding call on Chiefs' Smith takes 9 yards away - 1st and 19
Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn was one of the best kickers in the NFL regular season, but has now missed a field goal (from 55 yards) and an extra point in this game.
Fairbairn kicked to the Chiefs 6 and Remigio returned it 33 yards to the 39. But a Holding call on Chiefs' Williams put them back 10 yards - 1st and 10 at the 19
The Texans finally found the end zone on a 13-yard touchdown run by Joe Mixon. Unfortunately, Fairbairn's PAT was NO GOOD and the Texans are down by a point with 4:36 to go in the first half.
TEXANS TOUCHDOWN!
Stroud scrambles for 6 yards, hit by Reid but picks up the 1st down
Mixon was close to the 1st down but was marked short and then Texans' Smith was called for Illegal Motion so now it's 3rd and 6 for the Texans
Stroud pass to Hutchinson is caught for 13yards - 3rd and 1 at the Chiefs 15
Pierce runs it up 6 yards - 2nd and 14
Stroud pass to Smith is caught for 7 yards, but the Texans' Schultz is called for PassInterference - 10 yards, 1st and 20
Stroud makes the pass to Collins and he makes the catch for 12yards - 1st down
Mixon picks up 2 yards, just short of the first down - 3rd and 1
Mixon picks up 7 - 2nd and 3
Stroud pass to Schultz is caught for 5 yards - 1st down
Stroud pass to Hutchinson is caught for 14yards and Hicks makes the tackle - 3rd and 5
Pierce is taken back 4 yards by Anudike-Uzomah - 2nd and 19
False Start on Texans' Schultz - 5 yards - 1st and 15 at the 40
Stroud scrambles up for 5 yards - 1st down
Mixon gains another 7 yards - 2nd and 3
Mixon pushes through for 8 yards - 1st down
Mixon gets it again, takes it up 6 yards - 3rd and 3
Mixon stopped after a yard by Conner - 2nd and 9
Butker kicked to the Texans 8 and Hutchinson returned it 20 yards to the 28
Texans' Stewart was called for Holding - 10 yards, 1st and 10 at the Texans 18
SECOND HALF STARTS NOW!
And we're back to start the second half!
Hunt TD
Kareem Hunt put the ball in the end zone after the Kelce catch to extend the Chiefs' lead over the Texans.
Kelce catch-and-run
Chiefs made up for the "incompletion" by Brown with this 49-yard catch and run by Travis Kelce.
Hollywood Brown catch or no?
This catch for Brown was ruled incomplete, but again...I'm not so sure.
Stroud injured in first half
Stroud was limping after this play and apparently injured his knee but he was able to get back on the field after some treatment on the sideline.
Was this call justified?
Texans' Will Anderson Jr. was called for Roughing the Passer on this tackle, but I'm not so sure it should've been...
END FIRST HALF
Mahomes takes a knee and that will take us to the end of the first half.
The Chiefs are up 13-6 and the Texans will get the ball on offense when we come back for the second half.
Fairbairn made the 48-yard field goal with the wind nearly taking it out again. The Texans cut the deficit to 7 with 16 seconds left in the first half.
TEXANS FIELD GOAL!
Chiefs take first timeout
Ogunbowale runs it up 9 yards - 4th and 14
Stroud scrambles up for 12 yards, just short of the down
Holding call on Texans' Mason - 10 yards, 3rd and 23 at the Chiefs 38
Texans take first timeout
Stroud SACKED by Wharton for a loss of 8 yards - 3rd and 13
Pierce pushes through for 5 yards - 2nd and 5 at the Chiefs 30
Stroud pass deep to Metchie is caught for 24yards - 1st down
TWO-MINUTE WARNING
That takes us to the 2-minute warning in the first half. The Chiefs are up 13-3 after the Hunt TD. Texans have the ball at 2nd and 8 at the Chiefs 49.
Mixon stopped by Omenihu after 2 yards - 2nd and 8
Stroud pass complete to Metchie for 11yards - 1st down
Mixon runs it up 5 yards - 3rd and 3
Stroud scrambles for 2 yards - 2nd and 8
Butker kicks to the end zone - touchback to the Texans 30
A deep pass to Brown that was barely incomplete was followed up by a 49-yard catch and run by Travis Kelce. Hunt made it official in the end zone with a 1-yard run for the touchdown. Butker's PAT was good and the Chiefs extend the lead with 4:36 to play in the first half.
CHIEFS TOUCHDOWN!
Worthy is stopped JUST short of the end zone by To'oTo'o - 3rd and goal
Pacheco picks up 2 yards - 2nd and goal
Mahomes passes deep to Kelce and he catches and runs down the middle for 49YARDS all the way to the 6! 1st and goal
Mahomes pass DEEP to Brown looked like it was caught but the refs call it incomplete as it came out of his hands, knocked out by Murray - 2nd and 10
Fairbairn MISSES the 55-yard field goal by a long shot
Chiefs will take over at their own 45
Stroud SACKED by Omenihu for a loss of 6 yards and he forces the ball out of his hands for a FUMBLE. Texans' Mason recovers it at the 34 for a loss of 3 yards.
Mixon gains a yard, taken down by Nnadi - 3rd and 5
Mixon picks up 4 yards - 2nd and 6
Stroud takes off and scrambles for a huge gain of 28 yards - 1st down at the Chiefs 39
Stroud pass incomplete to Wayne - 3rd and 10
Mixon takes it again but Chenal takes him down for no gain - 2nd and 10
Mixon runs it up 12 yards - 1st down
Araiza punts to the end zone - touchback to the Texans 20
Mahomes SACKED by Anderson for a loss of 8 yards - 4th and 12
Mahomes pass to Hunt again for 2 yards - 3rd and 4
Hunt picks up 4 yards - 2nd down and 6 at the Texans 45
Mahomes makes the short pass to Worthy and he dodges through for 14yards and another 1st down
Mahomes escapes pressure and scrambles up 15 yards for the 1st down
END FIRST QUARTER
That takes us to the end of the first quarter.
So far, it's been a defensive game with the Chiefs scoring two field goals and the Texans scoring one field goal.
Chiefs have the ball at 3rd and 7 at their own 23 to start the second quarter.
Mahomes pass to Gray complete for 3 yards - 3rd and 7
Mahomes pass incomplete to Kelce - 2nd down
Update on Stroud's injury from our own Will Gittins.
Townsend punts to the Chiefs 10 and Remigio returns it 10 yards to the 20
Stroud SACKED by Jones for a loss of 12 - 4th and 20
Stroud pass to Hutchinson is incomplete - 3rd and 8
Mixon gains 2 - 2nd and 8
Stroud pass complete to Collins for 14 yards - 1sr down
Mixon pushes ahead for 8 yards - 3rd and 2
Stroud pass incompletet to Hutchinson, covered by McDuffie - 2nd and 10
Stroud is still limping after being given a treatment for the pain in his ankle
Butker kicks to the end zone - touchback to the Texans 30
The Texans make yet another stop on the Chiefs in the red zone. Butker made the 36-yard field goal and the Chiefs take back the small lead with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter.
CHIEFS FIELD GOAL!
Mahomes gets rid of the ball just as Autrey tackles him but it's incomplete to Perine - 4th and goal. Chiefs will settle for a field goal again.
Mahomes SACKED by Togiai for a loss of 2 - 3rd and goal at the 18
Worthy took the ball but Anderson Jr. was on the hunt for him, dragged him down for a loss of 8 yards - 2nd and goal at the 16
Mahomes was hit as he made the pass but Worthy leapt up in front of Murray to make the catch for 21 yards to the Texans 8 - 1st down and goal
Mahomes pass incomplete to Hopkins - 2nd and 10
Mahomes pass complete to Kelce for 23 yards to the Texans 29 - 1st down
Mahomes' pass is incomplete to Kelce but Texans' Anderson Jr. is called for Roughing the Passer, 15 yards - automatic 1st down
False Start on Chiefs' Taylor - 5 yards, 3rd and 8
Pacheco takes it again, gains a yard - 3rd and 3
Pacheco takes it up 6 yards - 2nd and 4
Fairbairn kicks to the Chiefs 10 and Perine returns it 21 yards to the 31
Texans QB C.J. Stroud was injured after the tackle just before the field goal and is being looked at on the sidelines
Stroud led the Texans into Chiefs territory with a 34-yard pass to TE Dalton Schultz, but the Chiefs defense, like the Texans to them, kept them out of the end zone. Fairbairn's 30-yard field goal was good and the game is now tied with 8:41 to go in the first quarter.
TEXANS FIELD GOAL!
Stroud scrambles ahead 2 yards, tackled out of bounds by Karlaftis - 4th and 7
Stroud pass to Collins batted away by McDuffie - 3rd and 9
Mixon tackled by Omenihu after a yard - 2nd and 9
Stroud pass 13 yards to Collins - 1st down at the Chiefs 14
Pierce takes it up 2 yards - 3rd and 3
Mixon pushes through for 5 yards - 2nd and 5
Stroud DEEP pass complete to Schultz for 34 yards to the Chiefs 35 - 1st down
Stroud pass to Mixon complete for 6 yards - 1st down
Stroud hands it off to Mixon and he pushes through for 5 yards - 2nd and 5
Butker kicks into the landing zone - touchback to the Texans 20
The Chiefs got into Texans territory right away with a 63-yard punt return and a 13-yard penalty on the Texans. But the Texans defense kept them out of the end zone. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made the 32-yard field goal to give the Chiefs an early lead with just under 14 minutes still to go in the first quarter,
CHIEFS FIELD GOAL!
Mahomes pass incomplete to Brown in the end zone at 3rd and 11
Mahomes passed it to Pacheco and he didn't make the catch, tackled by Bryant
Pacheco lost a yard, taken down by Settle
Texans' Boyd was called for Unnecessary Roughness - 13 yards
Fairbairn kicked it to the Chiefs 5 and Remigo returned it 63 YARDS to the 32 but then FUMBLED it. Chiefs' Perine recovered it.
And we're off!
The Texans have won the toss and elected to defer and the Chiefs start us on offense! Let's go!
Coming up in just a moment, gospel vocalist Lanell Lightfoot-Stewart will be singing the national anthem!
Chiefs and Texans INACTIVES
Chiefs Injury Report
The Chiefs are mostly healthy heading into today's playoff game after having an extra week to rest. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was playing through an ankle injury towards the end of the season and said the week of rest really helped him to feel back up to speed. They will be without offensive tackle Wanya Morris, safety Deon Bush, and OT Ethan Driskell.
Chiefs Inactives
OT CJ Hanson
OT Ethan Driskell
DE Malik Herring
DE Joshua Uche
S Deon Bush
CB Keith Taylor
OL Wanya Morris
Texans Injury Report
The Texans had two key players in doubt this week as running back Joe Mixon was dealing with an ankle injury and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair with a knee injury, but fortunately both are active for today's playoff game. They will, however, be without LB Devin White.
Texans Inactives
OL Nick Broeker
DE Jerry Hughes
LB Devin White
RB J.J. Taylor
C Kendrick Green
DT Kurt Hinish
Mahomes undefeated in the Divisional Round as Chiefs starter
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is not only chasing his fourth Super Bowl win, but also his and the Chiefs' seventh consecutive AFC Championshipappearance.
If the Chiefs beat the Texans today and advance to the AFC title game, they will be just one season short of Tom Brady's New England Patriots, who hold the record for most conference title appearances with eight.
Mahomes, for his part, has reached the AFC title game every year since he's been the starter for the Chiefs (2018). He's looking to continue that streak with a win today.
Weather forecast for Chiefs vs Texans
The Texans got lucky with no snow in the forecast for today's game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, but there is no escaping the January cold in Kansas City.
The temperature is currently below freezing at 23 degrees and temps are expected to dip into the evening. The Texans are used to playing in a dome stadium, so the cold could impact their play today.
3 former Texans hoping to avoid reliving a 2019 heartbreak
Like today, in 2019, the Texans and Chiefs found themselves playing against each other in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. That day, one of the craziest comebacks in playoff history happened.
The Texans were up 24-0 in the first quarter. In the second quarter though, the Chiefs made their biggest-ever comeback, outscoring the Texans by 28 points before eventually rallying to a 51-31 win.
While that was a pretty epic comeback for the Chiefs, the Texans players left that game heartbroken. Three of those players now find themselves back at Arrowhead in the Divisional Round six years later. But this time, they're playing on the Chiefs' side.
Former Texans widereceiver DeAndre Hopkins, safety Justin Reid, and defensive end Charles Omenihu are now playing for Kansas City. Omenihu and Reid have won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs since then. Hopkins was traded to the Chiefs this season and will hope to make it to the Super Bowl with them for the first time this time around.

QB comparison: Mahomes vs Stroud
Here's a look at how the two quarterbacks for tonight's game compare.
Thanks to our pals at Sofascore for the stats!
The last meeting between the Texans and Chiefs
It hasn't been too long since the Texans and Chiefs played each other. Their last matchup was just about a month ago, on December 21. In that meeting, the Chiefs won 27-19.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud finished with 244 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 260 yards and a touchdown.
That [Texans] defense is extremely real. They have a great quarterback and a great coach. We knew when we played them this last time, it was a hard-fought game. They get after the quarterback really well. They have really good secondary players and the linebackers fly around. So it’ll be a great challenge for us and we’ll have to play our best football.”
The ref for tonight's game has some Texans fans concerned...
Chiefs and Texans - how they got here
The Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are back in the playoffs again after two straight years winning the Super Bowl and they are looking to be the first team to make it a three-peat. The Chiefs only lost two games in the regular season. They were the team with the longest undefeated streak at 9-0, until their Week 11 game against the Buffalo Bulls ruined the streak. Their only other loss came against the Denver Broncos in the final week of the season, when they sat several of their starters. Although they went 15-2, they never scored more than 30 points in a game and had several close calls.
The Chiefs were the first team to clinch a playoff berth when they beat the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13. They eventually clinched the AFC West title and the top seed in the AFC, giving them the first-round bye week and home-field advantage for today's Divisional game against the Texans.
The Texans
The Texans, in their second season under head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud, started the season at 5-1, which was their best start since 2012. By the end of the season, however, their 10-7 record was the same as last year's. They won the AFC South for the second year in a row and were given home-field advantage in the Wild Card Round.
In the Wild Card Round, the Texans hosted the Los Angeles Chargers and put up a convincing performance, destroying the Chargers 32-12. This is the second season in a row that the Texans have made it to the second round of the playoffs.
Welcome!
Hello everyone and welcome to our LIVE text coverage of the NFL's AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.
It's Jen here bringing you the scores, highlights, updates, and commentary as the two-time Super Bowl winners Kansas City Chiefs take on the Houston Texans. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET from Arrowhead Stadium. Let's go!