Kansas City Chiefs show unstoppable potential in comeback win
The Kansas City Chiefs were down 24 against Houston before Patrick Mahomes and the offense showed their juggernaut potential to come back and win.
If you were to paint the worst-case scenario for how the Kansas City Chiefs were going to start their Divisional Round playoff matchup with the Houston Texans, you probably couldn’t have come up with how Sunday’s contest at Arrowhead Stadium began.
Houston started with the ball and made their way quickly down the field to score on a 54-yard touchdown pass. Then, after Patrick Mahomes and the offense were forced to go three-and-out on their first drive, the punt attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown to put the Texans up 14-0 over the Chiefs.
With Arrowhead already quieting down, the Texans defense continued to put the clamps on the Kansas City offense while capitalizing on a Tyreek Hill muffed punt that resulted in another touchdown to go up 21-0. A field goal early in the second quarter then made it 24-0 in favor of the visitors and all hope seemed lost.
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Mahomes and the Chiefs offense reminded us all that, with the type of firepower this team has on that side of the ball, nothing is ever over.
Off the Texans field goal, Mecole Hardman exploded for a 58-yard kick return to set up Kansas City in great field position, which they capitalized on with a touchdown toss to Damien Williams. That then started a historic comeback as the Chiefs scored points on their next eight drives, spanning from early in the second quarter to midway through the fourth quarter as they set a playoff record for most consecutive scoring drives in a game.
After the tumultuous and, frankly, absurd start to the game, the Chiefs not only showed tremendous mental fortitude to pull it together but also showed just how unstoppable they can be when they get rolling.
Mahomes was fantastic on Sunday as he went 23-of-35 for 321 yards and five touchdowns while also leading the Chiefs in rushing with four carries for 56 yards. Travis Kelce looked like the matchup nightmare he is with 10 catches for 134 yards and three scores while Sammy Watkins had two big plays that went for 76 total yards. And Damien Williams stayed a key cog in the offense with 47 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards and three total touchdowns.
What Kansas City put on full display was just how impossible they can be to stop. Mahomes, the reigning NFL MVP, put all of his talents on the field against Houston while the weaponry around him proved too much to contain. And the result — after trailing 24-0 through under 20 minutes of play — was a 51-31 victory.
The type of explosiveness it takes to not only put up 51 points and win by 20 in a playoff game but to do it after such an awful start to the game and trailing by 24 points is something you just don’t see. In fact, we’ve never seen it before in the postseason as the Chiefs became the first team in playoff history to win by 20 points after trailing by 20 or more points.
That’s the type of rare firepower we’re talking about with this Kansas City offense.
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The Chiefs will be back at Arrowhead Stadium next week to host the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game. And while the Titans have already slain two giants, they haven’t run into an unstoppable force just yet (clearly). If Kansas City’s offense plays like they did on Sunday, that will change with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.