KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. thought Saturday during their 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional playoffs. The referee went against his team.

The Texans' defense was flagged for two controversial penalties at different points when they contacted Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both free throws expanded the Chiefs' offense and eventually expanded the point difference to a critical 10 points.

"We knew this game was going to be us versus the referees," Anderson said after the game.

On the Chiefs' second possession, Mahomes threw an incomplete pass to tight end Travis Kelce, and Anderson was deemed to have roughed the passer. Shortly after Mahomes passed the ball, Anderson appeared to hit Mahomes in the upper neck area. That drive ended with a field goal to give them a 6-3 lead.

In the third quarter, Mahomes scrambled and slipped on the first down, and Texans defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi and linebacker Henry Toto'o collided with him, resulting in an unnecessary collision. rough punishment. The Chiefs capitalized on the extra yardage and scored a touchdown to end the possession and take a 20-12 lead.

Fatukasi told ESPN he didn't remember the game he was tagged, and To'o To'o said "that's it."

When coach DeMeco Ryans was asked about the controversial calls, he made a subtle comment. But Reigns admitted "self-inflicted mistakes" cost them their chance to advance to the AFC Champions League for the first time in franchise history.

"We knew going into this game, man, it was us versus everybody. And when I say everybody, it means everybody," Reigns said. "Knowing coming into this game what we were up against, we couldn't make the mistakes that we made. Whether it was special teams not converting our kicks. Defensively, not in coverage where we should have been. Offensively, Instead of protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean, on top of the other things we have to deal with, it's going to be a very tough battle."

For the Texans, the mistakes were numerous. That's why despite Houston making it to the divisional round in consecutive seasons, Reigns was "frustrated" by the outcome.

"It hurts because I know we're a better team than we played today," Reigns said. "It's frustrating to go back and still have to talk about the mistakes we made in this moment. Because we have to overcome this at this stage in the playoffs."

The Texans' special teams made critical mistakes that put them at a disadvantage for much of the game. After the game's kickoff, Houston gave up a 63-yard kickoff return to Chiefs running back Samaje Perine, who tackled defensive back Kris Boyd. The fumble was recovered by Chiefs wide receiver Nikko Remigio.

However, before recovering, Boyd sprinted in celebration and threw off his helmet before reaching the sideline. He took an unsportsmanlike penalty 15 yards out, and the Chiefs' offense began at Houston's 13-yard line. The defense didn't allow a touchdown, but Kansas City took advantage of the field position and scored.

The Texans opened the second half with a touchdown run by running back Joe Mixon. But kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the extra point attempt that tied the game at 13. Fairbairn also missed a field goal attempt in the second quarter.

In addition to the special teams miscues, the Texans also failed to protect quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had a career-high 23 dropbacks and eight sacks under pressure, tying him in Week 9 against the New York Jets Team's career-high record.

Stroud's 56% pressure rate was the second-highest in the NFL playoffs since ESPN began tracking pressures in 2009, trailing only former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow in 2011 ( 63%).

"In the playoffs, you've got to win one-on-ones," Reigns said. "That's what the game comes down to. You've got to be brave enough to face one-on-one. You've got to have a certain amount of pride in the guy you're blocking to be able to finish and give the quarterback a chance to throw the ball."

Stroud was able to use his legs to absorb some pressure, rushing for 42 yards and picking up a couple of third downs.

“Just being a competitor and trying to put my team in a position to win,” Stroud said. "There were times I probably shouldn't have done that and just threw the ball away. So it was a balance and I thought I tried to do that today and I thought I hit a lot of shots overall today."

Still, every time the Chiefs blitzed the Texans, they struggled to find answers. Stroud encountered blitzes on 10 of his 18 dropbacks in the fourth quarter (56%), including seven straight dropbacks. Stroud went 3-of-8 for 41 yards and two sacks against the blitz in the fourth quarter.

The mistakes the Texans made were too difficult to overcome, and they became the first team to outscore their opponent by more than 100 yards (336-212) without turning the ball over and lose a playoff game. According to ESPN research, the previous record of such teams in the playoffs was 49-0.

“Can’t keep shooting yourself in the foot and not get over it and expect to win,” Stroud said.