KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs will play in the AFC Championship Game for the seventh consecutive season. They defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 in the divisional round of the playoffs on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium to seal a spot in the division title this season, the 300th of head coach Andy Reid's career. victory.

The Chiefs extended their one-point lead to 20-12 early in the fourth quarter when a downed Patrick Mahomes threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kyle. Travis Kelce. While the two have combined for touchdowns in the playoffs many times over the years, this was their most spectacular. Mahomes was hit and was on his way to the ground, but he passed the ball to Kelce before he went down.

The Chiefs are 4-2 in their last six AFC games. Both losses came in overtime. The Chiefs will continue their quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl title against the winner of Sunday's game between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. The Texans ended their season by losing in the divisional playoffs for the second straight season.

Describe this game in two words: Kelce in the playoffs. Just like last season, when Kelce performed well in the playoffs, he saved his best for the postseason. The tight end had seven catches for 117 yards and an 11-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to lead the Chiefs in control of the passing game. It was the ninth time in his career that he had 100 yards in a playoff game, setting a record for him. The 35-year-old Kelce and several key players looked fresh after their Week 18 break as the Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs and earned a wild-card berth with a week left in the regular season.

Most surprising performance: The Chiefs got nothing from wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster through three quarters. No capture. They were targeted three times but none of their passes were on target.

Disturbing trends: The Chiefs allowed pressure on Mahomes without having to blitz too much. The Texans pressured Mahomes five times on 13 passes in the first half alone, but things didn't get better from there. This has been an issue for the Chiefs for much of the season. Mahomes was sacked 36 times during the regular season, a career high. ——Adam Teicher

Next game: AFC Championship Game vs. Bills or Ravens (Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m. ET)

The Texans lost 0-6 in the divisional round, once again failing to reach their first AFC Championship game. The chance to turn things around was there, but they made too many mistakes to overcome.

That included multiple unnecessary roughing calls, a total of eight sacks, missed kicks and blocked kicks and eight sacks of quarterback C.J. Stroud.

In one of the game's most critical moments, with the Chiefs trailing 13-12 and facing a third-and-goal from the 11, the defense couldn't stop Mahomes in time before he headed toward Kelce's touchdown pass was in the end zone.

Jaw-dropping statistics: Stroud faced a career-high 23 total pressures and was pressured on 56 percent of his dropbacks. The pressure resulted in eight sacks, tying a career-high in Week 9 against the New York Jets.

QB breakdown: Stroud's overall numbers weren't great, with 245 passing yards and no touchdowns, but his performance passed the eye test. He extended plays with his legs to finish and competed for multiple first downs. The Texans went 10-for-17 on third downs, all but two of which were due to Stroud's play. But missing key wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dial is a major void in the playoffs.

Biggest hole in the game plan: Defend Kelce. The seven-time All-Pro ignited the Texans defense, totaling 117 yards on seven catches and a touchdown. Kelce had one game all season with at least 100 receiving yards. The last time he rushed for over 101 yards was in the 2023 AFC Championship game against the Ravens.

Describe this game in two words: Special error. The special teams made critical mistakes that put the Texans at a disadvantage for much of the game. After the game's kickoff, Houston gave up a 63-yard kickoff return by Kansas City's Nikko Remigio, which led to a Chiefs field goal and defensive back Kris Boyd's special Team coach Frank Ross pushed to the sidelines and the scene was heated. Texans kicker Kaimi Fairbairn missed a field goal attempt in the second quarter and an extra-point attempt after Joe Mixon's touchdown in the third quarter, ultimately tying the game at 13. ——DJ Aimee Bian