A common refrain rang true again on Saturday: The Chiefs are at their best in the clutch.
Despite bending often against the Texans, Kansas City’s defense not only refused to break, but broke back, shattering Houston’s best-laid plans for an upset victory thanks to eight sacks from coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s smothering pass rush in a narrow 23-14 Divisional Round win.
“They’re good players that love to play the game,” head coach Andy Reid explained postgame when asked how his team seems to produce more big plays in crucial moments, per team transcript. “We’re sitting here, it’s that time of the year, guys stepped up and did just a nice job. Spags puts them in position to be able to do that and then they take advantage of that, that’s how that goes.”
Parts of the Chiefs’ first playoff game of the campaign, a Week 16 rematch, followed the same blueprint seen in many of Kansas City’s victories during the regular season.
Patrick Mahomes and the offense spun their wheels but made just enough plays, counting on the defense to limit scoring on the other side.
But while Spagnuolo’s unit proved up to the task by holding Houston to 14 points, the group was undeniably leaky.
Kansas City gave up 336 total yards compared to 212 and allowed both quarterback C.J. Stroud and running back Joe Mixon to do damage on the ground. Stroud picked up multiple first downs with his legs and had 42 yards, while Mixon averaged 4.9 a carry for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Coming out of halftime, Houston sustained a 15-play touchdown drive that took 10: 24 off the clock, failing to knot the score at 13 only due to an errant extra point. What had been a 10-point margin until 16 seconds remained in the second quarter turned into a razor-thin lead late in the third quarter, all without the Chiefs touching the ball.
As Reid alluded to, it was that time of the game, during that time of the year.
After amassing three sacks in the first half, Kansas City was blanked in the third quarter before going into hyperdrive — none more so than defensive end George Karlaftis, who tallied three sacks of hi