HOUSTON, Texas, Sporting Alert – The Kansas City Chiefs are going places after finally ending an unwanted playoff failure and set a franchise record in doing so.
And oh yea, they started their exciting journey on the road on Saturday.
CHIEFS 30, TEXANS 0
After a slow start to the season, Kansas City has recovered well and remains on course to battle for the AFC title, after blanking the Houston Texans 30-0 to open the wild card weekend.
We ain’t stopping. #ForTheKingdom https://t.co/EPMq42Khzb
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 10, 2016
FINAL: @Chiefs 30-0 @HoustonTexans First time a team has been held without scoring in the #NFLPlayoffs since 2005 pic.twitter.com/3LbHi0MRBY
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 10, 2016
The Chiefs got off to the best possible start in Houston, after Knile Davis had a 106-yard kickoff return to open the scoring with just 11 seconds gone on the clock. It was the second-longest kickoff return touchdown in postseason history.
Travis Kelce took eight of his 10 targets for 128 yards, and quarteback Alex Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown for Kansas City (12-5) which collected its 11th straight win this season.
“What happened to us a couple years ago, everybody remembers that even the coaches included, so our entire mentality is about finishing,” Smith said.
“The mentality doesn’t change.”
The Chiefs who forced five turnovers were also recording the first NFL postseason shutout since 2005, and landing their first playoff win since 1994.
Brian Hoyer, who was booed throughout the afternoon, was 15 of 34 for 136 yards, and a career-high four interceptions, including three before halftime.
“I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” Hoyer said.
Alfred Blue rushed 17 times for 99 yards and DeAndre Hopkins took six catches for 69 yards for Houston (9-8) which was losing a home playoff game for the first time.
Spencer Ware ran for 67 yards and had a 5-yard run for a score on the first play of the fourth quarter for Kansas City, with Chris Conley taking a catch for a score for the Chiefs, who snapped its streak of eight straight playoff losses.
Saturday’s saw the Houston Texans’ three-game winning streaking ending at a time when they can’t over.
Kansas City will return to playoff action next weekend where it will be in the AFC Divisional round against either the No. 1-seeded Denver Broncos or the No. 2-seeded defending champion New England Patriots.
STEELERS 18, BENGALS 16
Ben Roethlisberger was 18 of 31 on completed passes for 229 yards and one touchdown and the Pittsburgh Steelers edged the Cincinnati Bengals 18-16 in their AFC wild card round game on Saturday night.
Roethlisberger was forced to leave the game with a right shoulder injury on the final play of the third quarter, but returned just in time to guide the Steelers into field goal range with 22 seconds left when he passed to wide receiver Antonio Brown in Cincinnati territory, while the hosts were hit with a pair of 15-yard penalties as well.
“Coach came to me and asked if I could do it. I said I’d give it my best shot,” said Roethlisberger.
This paved the way for Chris Boswell to kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to send the Steelers into the Divisional Round against No. 1 seed Denver Broncos this coming weekend.
Brown finished with seven catches for 119 yards and Martavis Bryant caught a touchdown pass for Pittsburgh (11-6) which almost gave away the game after the Bengals roared back with 16 straight points in the fourth quarter.
AJ McCarron threw for 212 yards and one touchdown, with one interception for the Bengals (12-5), while A.J. Green had five catches for 71 yards and Jeremy Hill ran for a score, but had a costly fumble which setup Pittsburgh’s final attempt.
NFL Wild Card Scores And Box Scores
CHIEFS 30, TEXANS 0
STEELERS 18, BENGALS 16
