Too Many Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs running back Knile Davis took the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown to get the playoff party started, and the Texans never really challenged from there.

The Chiefs intercepted quarterback Brian Hoyer four times and recovered one of his two fumbles. That kept the Texans out of the end zone and allowed quarterback Alex Smith to move the Chiefs down the field.

Smith was efficient, but not flashy, zipping passes a few yards to Travis Kelce, Jeremy Maclin and five other receivers. Smith finished 17 of 22 for 190 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. The Chiefs’ unsung running backs — led by Spencer Ware, who rushed for 67 yards — eked out enough yards to keep drives alive.

The game was billed as a tight battle because the Chiefs and the Texans had two of the stingiest defenses during the regular season, and both teams were without their best running backs. In the first half, the game did not disappoint.

The Chiefs needed just 11 seconds to take the lead when Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown, the second longest in playoff history.

“It was quiet in the stadium,” Davis said. “It was just surreal.”

Then it turned into a slugfest. The Chiefs moved the ball more effectively, but they missed a prime opportunity to score when Smith’s pass to Maclin was tipped and intercepted with a little less than seven minutes left in the first quarter. It was Smith’s first postseason interception.

Smith also sailed a pass just beyond the reach of wide receiver Albert Wilson that would have resulted in an easy score.

But the Chiefs made the Texans pay for Hoyer’s sloppiness. They converted two of his interceptions into 49-yard field goals by Cairo Santos.

The Texans never really got going. They had a revolving door at quarterback all season, starting four different ones. Hoyer, who started the opening game of the season against the Chiefs, also started Saturday.

Many Texans fans may wish he had not. On a drive midway through the second quarter, with the Chiefs leading, 13-0, Hoyer connected with DeAndre Hopkins for 16 yards, and two plays later, running back Alfred Blue darted this way and that for a 49-yard run. Soon, the Texans, who were on the Chiefs’ 2-yard line, seemed poised to score.

Instead of a touchdown, though, the Texans’ drive ended in disarray. Houston’s All-Pro defensive end, J. J. Watt, lined up as quarterback in the Wildcat formation. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork lined up as one of his blockers. Watt ran the ball but lost a yard, a play that was widely derided on Twitter.

Hoyer then threw into traffic, with the ball landing in the arms of Chiefs linebacker Josh Mauga. When the Texans got the ball back with a little more than two minutes left in the first half, Hoyer was intercepted a third time. The fans booed even louder.

“When you’re not playing well, they’re going to let you know,” Texans Coach Bill O’Brien said.

In the second half, O’Brien stuck with Hoyer, who finished 15 of 34 for 136 yards, instead of turning to Brandon Weeden, another former Cleveland Browns quarterback. It may not have mattered.

After the Texans’ opening drive of the half stalled, Smith and the Chiefs marched 94 yards in 11 plays, finishing with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chris Conley to go up, 20-0, with under five minutes left in the third quarter.

During the drive, though, Maclin, the Chiefs’ top receiver, left the game after injuring his right knee, the same one he had hurt twice before. On the same play, Watt injured his groin and came off the field. Fans booed as a replay on the stadium video board showed Fisher shoving Watt while he was down.

Even with Watt fully healthy, the Texans might not have slowed the Chiefs. The next time they had the ball, Smith engineered a 71-yard scoring drive that included a 48-yard pass to Kelce. After Spencer Ware’s 5-yard touchdown run and the extra point gave the Chiefs a 27-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, many fans in the announced crowd of 71,800 started heading for the exits.

“We wanted to come in and get a win, come in and dominate,” Chiefs safety Eric Berry said.

Now the Chiefs will travel to New England for another elimination game.

“It’s win or go home,” Smith said. “To be honest, we kind of have been playing like that for a while now.”