C.J. Stroud was nearly knocked out of the game by the time the Kansas City Chiefs had sacked him for the eighth time on Saturday. His jersey was torn and covered in grass and mud, reflecting how tough the game had been for the Houston quarterback.
This game was another painful chapter in the Texans’ repeated trips to the divisional round of the playoffs. The Texans had some great highs and frustrating lows throughout the season, but after a surprising win over the Chargers in the wild-card round, they seemed to have some momentum.
However, that momentum didn’t last against the Chiefs. With Patrick Mahomes connecting with Travis Kelce throughout the game and Kansas City’s pass rush dominating Stroud, the Chiefs continued their championship run with a 23-14 win, keeping the Texans out of the AFC title game once again.
This marks the sixth time the Texans have failed to make it past the divisional round. Two of those defeats have come in Kansas City.
“I’m walking out of here discouraged. This one hurts,” said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. “In postseason football, you’ve got to be at your best. You’ve got to operate on all cylinders. We didn’t do that today, so that’s what’s discouraging.”
This loss was just as bitter as the one in January 2020 when the Texans blew a 24-point lead to the Chiefs and lost 51-31. That game helped push Mahomes, Kelce, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid toward their first Super Bowl win.
In this game, Houston’s Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field goal that could have tied the game at 6 late in the first half. Instead, the miss gave the Chiefs a short field, and five plays later, Kareem Hunt scored a touchdown.
In the second half, the Texans managed a long drive, going 81 yards for a touchdown that should have tied the game. But Fairbairn missed the extra point due to the swirling cold winds. The miss kept the Chiefs in the lead at 13-12, and it seemed to drain the energy and excitement that Stroud, running back Joe Mixon, and the rest of the offense had built up.
Kansas City took advantage of the situation, driving 81 yards for a touchdown and extending the lead to 20-12 early in the fourth quarter.
The Texans still had chances to tie the game, but their efforts came up short. The first opportunity ended with three straight incompletions from Stroud and a sack on fourth down by George Karlaftis. The second drive ended with two incompletions and a punt.
By the time the Chiefs kicked a late field goal and gave up a safety in the closing seconds, the game was over.
“It’s all about execution. I’ve talked about that all year,” said Mixon, who ran for 88 yards and a touchdown despite dealing with a sore ankle. “Unfortunately, it was two or three critical moments we didn’t execute the way we should have. I think we had opportunities out there that we didn’t capitalize on. The margin of error, especially in the playoffs, is small.”
The Texans can still take pride in their second consecutive AFC South title and their win over the Chargers. However, they’ve never won consecutive playoff games in a season, and that fact will likely weigh heavily on Ryans, who was part of the first Texans team to win a playoff game when they beat Cincinnati in January 2012.
“To me it was frustration in all three phases: special teams, offense, defense. We didn’t get it done,” said Ryans. Despite facing season-ending injuries to key players like Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, the team made it to the divisional round.
“Again, congrats to Andy (Reid) and the Chiefs. They deserve it,” Ryans added. “They’ve done a great job over the past few years being consistent and that’s why they’ve been champions.”
As for Stroud, he’s done just about everything except reach the AFC championship game. The 23-year-old quarterback is the youngest player to face a defending Super Bowl champion in the playoffs, and he’s only the sixth quarterback to win a playoff game in each of his first two seasons. He’s also the first Texans quarterback to win two playoff games.
But against Kansas City and their tough defense, Stroud couldn’t get it done.
The rest of the Texans struggled too.
“Hopefully this game is a good step for what is a very young core,” said Texans tight end Dalton Schultz. “When you’re able to go through a game like this and come up short, sometimes you really need that to grow and move forward as a team, as a core.”
“You’ve got to know what that is like,” Schultz added. “You’ve got to know what those moments feel like when you’re training, what you’re training for, how to train for this moment. There’s a lot of wisdom that comes with the experience of playing in these types of games that I think will be good for the core of this team.”
