Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have had plenty of rest ahead of today’s game against the Texans.
The Houston Texans have a chance to do something today that’s never been done in franchise history. If they can get past the Chiefs in Kansas City they’ll reach the AFC championship game for the first time ever. In fact, no Houston football team has been to the AFC title game in decades. The last time was when the Houston Oilers played the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1980 season.
Kickoff for today’s game is 3:30 p.m. KHOU 11’s Luis Ortiz is in Kansas City with fans and players, and Jason Bristol will wrap up the game live on KHOU 11+ on Roku, Fire TV and AppleTV. We’ll also keep highlights and updates during the game on this page.
The showdown comes four weeks after Houston fell to Kansas City in the regular season. The Chiefs won that game 27-19 at Arrowhead. It was the game that receiver Tank Dell suffered his season-ending knee injury. The two teams have faced off in the playoffs only once, which was in 2019. Houston had a 24-0 lead in that game, only to fall, 51-31.
Kansas City is favored to win by 8.5 points.
Getting past the Chiefs is no easy task, to say the least. They’re the two-time defending Super Bowl champions and have only two losses on the season, including the last game of the season when they rested their starters. The Chiefs also had a bye week last week, meaning those starters have had three weeks for injuries to heal and look to go into the game healthy.
The Texans, meanwhile, are coming off a wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers that featured a shutdown defense that had four interceptions of Justin Herbert after the Chargers QB only threw three picks total last season. The Texans are dealing with some key injuries, including running back Joe Mixon, who was listed as questionable with an ankle injury and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who is questionable with a bad knee.
Receiver Robert Woods is also questionable with hip injury, which is big considering how depleted the Texans’ receiving unit is. With Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs out for the season and the Texans waiving Diontae Johnson after just two games, quarterback CJ Stroud will have to rely heavily on Nico Collins, John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson. The team did add receiver Jared Wayne to the active roster for the game.
More odds and ends for today’s Texans-Chiefs game
Houston Mayor John Whitmire accepts KC mayor’s bet…and raises him
It’s on! Houston Mayor John Whitmire not only accepted the wager placed by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas ahead of the big Texans-Chiefs playoff game on Saturday. In a post on X, he raised him. It’s a bet involving BBQ and Mexican food! Details of the wager here.
A ‘special’ group
The Texans got two big plays from special teams in last week’s playoff win. D’Angelo Ross blocked a punt in the first quarter before returning a blocked extra point for two points in the fourth. The blocked punt was the first in a playoff game since the 2021 season and the PAT return was the first in NFL playoff history.
“The special teams unit came up big for us making some impact plays,” Ryans said. “Any time special teams can affect the game where it is taking the ball away, blocking the kick, it changes the game drastically.”
Mr. Reliable
Nico Collins has continued to star for the Texans despite the loss of fellow wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to season-ending injuries. Collins led the team with 1,006 yards receiving in the regular season despite missing five games with an injury, and he had a franchise playoff-record 122 yards receiving and a touchdown against the Chargers last weekend.
“Very proud of Nico for what he’s been able to accomplish just all year, everything that he’s done,” Ryans said. “Even when everyone knows the ball is going to him, he still makes the play. So, excited for him and just his trajectory as a pro.”
Tricky tackle situation
The Chiefs struggled most of the season to protect Mahomes’ blind side, eventually moving All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney outside with Mike Caliendo in his place. The question now is whether they will stick with that lineup or move Thuney back to his natural spot and start D.J. Humphries, a one-time Pro Bowl left tackle who has played just two games because of injuries this season.
Watson’s return
Jaylen Watson could play for Kansas City for the first time since breaking his ankle Oct. 20 against San Francisco. The third-year cornerback had become a reliable starter in the defensive backfield before getting hurt.
“Not telling you he could play a whole game,” Reid said, “but I think he has a chance to play for sure.”
Golden papa
It was an exciting bye weekend for Mahomes, whose wife, Brittany, gave birth to their third child on Sunday. They named their new daughter Golden Raye, and she joins a family that includes another daughter, Sterling, and a son nicknamed Bronze.
“It was cool that football was on TV while I was in the hospital, so I was able to watch a little bit,” Mahomes said. “Brittany was kind enough to let us watch football as she was getting ready to give birth.”