The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the AFC Championship Game for a seventh-straight season after defeating the Houston Texans, 23-14, in the Divisional Round on Saturday.
Here are some quick notes from the win.
1. The Chiefs are now one of just two teams in NFL history to play in at least seven consecutive conference title games.
Kansas City extended what was already the second-longest streak of consecutive conference title game appearances in league history on Saturday, advancing to its seventh in a row.
Only the New England Patriots, who appeared in eight-straight conference title games from 2011-18, compiled a longer streak. Additionally, only five of the Patriots' appearances in the AFC Championship Game during that streak took place at home. The Chiefs, meanwhile, will have played six of their seven trips to the title game at home as of Sunday.
2. Head Coach Andy Reid won his 300th game on Saturday.
Reid notched his 300th career win as a head coach on Saturday, extending what was already the fourth-most total victories in league history. Only Don Shula (347), Bill Belichick (333) and George Halas (324) recorded more.
In terms of postseason wins, Reid's 27 victories are second to only Belichick (31).
3. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes matched Joe Montana for the second-most postseason wins in NFL history.
Mahomes now has 16 postseason wins as a starting quarterback, matching the great Joe Montana for the second-most in league history. Only Tom Brady, who racked up 35 postseason wins during his career, owns more.
Additionally, Mahomes' 42 passing touchdowns in the playoffs are fifth-most in league history. Only Brady (88), Montana (45), Aaron Rodgers (45) and Brett Favre (44) threw more.
4. Tight end Travis Kelce added to his postseason legend.
Kelce hauled in seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, compiling his ninth career playoff game with at least 100 receiving yards. The performance broke a tie with Jerry Rice for the most such games in NFL postseason history.
Kelce, who already owns the most career catches in NFL playoff history with 172, is now just 226 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns shy of passing Rice for the most in each category in NFL postseason history.
5. The Chiefs' eight sacks on Saturday marked the second-most in franchise postseason history.
Kansas City racked up eight sacks on Saturday, which trails only the Chiefs' nine sacks against the Houston Oilers in the 1993-94 postseason for the most in franchise history. In fact, the Chiefs are one of only 11 teams in league history to record at least eight sacks in a playoff game.
That total was a group effort, too, as six different players recorded a sack on Saturday: defensive end George Karlaftis (3), safety Chamarri Conner (1), defensive end Charles Omenihu (1), defensive tackle Chris Jones (1), defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah (1) and defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (1).
Additionally, four of those eight sacks took place on either third or fourth down.
As a whole, the Chiefs pressured Texans' quarterback C.J. Stroud on 54% of his dropbacks on Saturday.
6. George Karlaftis, specifically, had a night to remember.
Karlaftis joined Frank Clark as just the second player in franchise history to record three or more sacks in a single postseason game on Saturday (since sacks became an official statistic in 1982). He's also the first player to do so among all players since the Tennessee Titans' Jeffery Simmons tallied three sacks against the Bengals in the 2021-22 Divisional Round.
The three-year veteran also matched a career-best with eight pressures in the game.
7. Tailback Kareem Hunt tallied his seventh-career postseason touchdown.
Hunt, who rushed for 44 yards on eight carries in Saturday's game, punched in a 1-yard touchdown rush late in the second quarter. It marked the seventh-career postseason touchdown for Hunt, and his first as a member of the Chiefs since the Wild Card Round of the 2017-18 postseason.
For the year, Hunt now has a team-leading 950 scrimmage yards and eight total touchdowns.
8. Cornerback Trent McDuffie recorded three pass-breakups on six targets.
McDuffie was excellent on Saturday, yielding just three catches (on six targets) for 56 yards while surrendering only four yards after-the-catch and tallying a team-most three pass-breakups.
Those numbers are further amplified by the fact that McDuffie covered Texans' wide receiver Nico Collins – one of the top pass-catchers in the NFL – for much of the game.
9. Kansas City has won the most playoff games in a seven-year span in league history.
The Chiefs' 16 playoff wins since 2018 are the most in a seven-year span in league history, extending a record Kansas City – remarkably – already owned entering this postseason. The next closest team, New England from 2001-07, won 14 playoff games in a seven-year span.
Patrick Mahomes has led the Chiefs to at least the AFC Championship Game in each of his seven seasons as Kansas City's starter.
10. The Chiefs won their eighth-straight postseason game on Saturday.
Kansas City has now won eight-consecutive playoff games dating back to the 2022 postseason, joining the 2001-05 New England Patriots (10 straight) and the 1961-67 Green Bay Packers (9 straight) as the only teams in league history to win at least eight postseason games in a row.
The Chiefs are now just one win shy of winning back-to-back-to-back AFC titles, and with a trip to Super Bowl LIX on the line, Kansas City will take on Buffalo this upcoming Sunday.
