The Kansas City Chiefs pushed their winning streak to 11 games and captured their first playoff win since 1994 with a 30-0 thrashing of the Houston Texans in Wild Card Round playoff action Saturday at NRG Stadium.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Kansas City became the first team since the Carolina Panthers in 2005 to record a road shutout in a playoff game.
While offensive touchdowns were few and far between, the Chiefs made an opening special teams statement and rode their dominant defense to snap an eight-game postseason losing streak.
Quarterback Alex Smith put forth an efficient yet unspectacular performance and finished 17-of-22 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Tight end Travis Kelce was Smith's target du jour in the win, totaling eight catches for a career-high 128 yards. Jeremy Maclin—Kansas City's No. 1 receiver—was carted off after suffering a knee injury in the third quarter and didn't return.
Running back Spencer Ware added 67 yards on 16 carries and recorded a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter.
Houston, meanwhile, watched quarterback Brian Hoyer face-plant to the tune of 136 passing yards and four interceptions while completing 15 of 34 pass attempts. The Texans defense stood tall on several occasions to keep things within reach, but star defensive end J.J. Watt went to the sideline after suffering a groin injury in the second half as Kansas City pulled away.
NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal properly contextualized Houston's lackluster effort:
Kansas City opened the scoring in spectacular fashion and didn't look back. Although the Chiefs offense was hardly prolific, a 106-yard touchdown by Knile Davis on the game's opening kickoff—which the NFL relayed on Twitter—set the tone and eased Kansas City's nerves:
Conversely, Houston's first half was the stuff of nightmares. Hoyer tossed three interceptions—including one on Kansas City's 2-yard line to end an eight-play, 77-yard drive—and fumbled in Kansas City territory as the offense mustered little beyond a few DeAndre Hopkins catches and an Alfred Blue 49-yard run.
As the Houston Chronicle's Brian T. Smith and John McClain explained, Hoyer didn't do himself any favors in the biggest game of his career:
Houston trailed 13-0 at the break, and Hoyer's stat line was cringe-inducing, according to Bleacher Report on Instagram:
The Texans had hope since they trailed by only two scores despite their mistakes, but sustained drives were elusive.
While Kansas City can take solace in the fact that it made quick work of the Texans, a stiffer test awaits in the next round against either the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots with injuries mounting.
After Maclin went down with a knee injury that could keep him out next week, the Chiefs will be pressed to create downfield opportunities without their most prolific vertical playmaker. And even though the defense reminded the AFC's top seeds that it's capable of dominating up front and duking things out in a low-scoring affair, questions will linger regarding Kansas City's ability to match the Patriots or Broncos score for score.
However, the Chiefs are unequivocally the hottest team in the AFC. With 11 straight wins to their name, Kansas City has momentum firmly on its side with a daunting, season-defining road date ahead.
Postgame Reaction
Chiefs defensive lineman Dontari Poe was among those ecstatic about the win, per the NFL's Twitter account:
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Saturday represented the continuation of Kansas City's dominance over Houston in the postseason:
BJ Kissel of the Chiefs' official website and ChiefsDigest.com's Herbie Teope updated Maclin's status:
At the postgame podium, Texans head coach Bill O'Brien explained his thinking regarding a potential change at quarterback, per the team's official Twitter account:
"I picked the wrong time to have the worst game," Hoyer said, per the Texans' Twitter account. "It's tough. Own up to it and learn from it. Embarrassing."
"A disappointing way to end the season," O'Brien added, according to the Texans' Twitter account. "We are all in this together. We obviously have a long way to go here."