There's regular-season Kelce and playoff Kelce. Regular-season Chiefs and playoff Chiefs, too

Updated Jan. 20, 2025 2:41 p.m. ET

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes has been around Travis Kelce long enough to know that there are two different versions of the tight end.

There's the regular-season Trav, a Hall of Fame-worthy player in his own right, and there is postseason Trav, who has ascended to near-mythic status while helping the Chiefs win three Super Bowls and close within two more wins of a fourth.

Despite a pedestrian season by his standards, the 35-year-old Kelce came alive again Saturday in the divisional round against the Texans, catching seven passes for 117 yards and a touchdown in a 23-14 win. That was all but 60 of the yards that Mahomes had passing for the game, and accounted for well over half of their 212 yards of total offense.

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. That's how simple it is,” said Mahomes, who delivered that TD throw to Kelce while he was getting dragged to the ground by a Houston defensive tackle at a decisive moment in the game.

“He just goes out and executes at a high level, just like he does in the regular season, but at a higher intensity in the playoffs.”

What a coincidence.

The Chiefs do the exact same thing.

Sure, they went 15-2 in the regular season and rolled to the No. 1 seed and first-round bye, but the two-time defending Super Bowl champs did it by squeaking out last-second wins — on made field goals, blocked field goals, fourth down stops and every other way imaginable. It never seemed as if the Chiefs were a juggernaut barreling toward another championship.

But it sure looked that way Saturday.

The offense may have chosen to control the ball and avoid any miscues, resulting in a modest yardage total, but the defense balanced it out with eight sacks of C.J. Stroud. And their special teams were on point, nearly returning a kickoff for a touchdown and hitting all of their field-goal and PAT attempts, sending them to their seventh straight AFC championship game.

Wouldn't you know it? Their opponent is once again Buffalo, which beat the Ravens 27-25 on Sunday. The Chiefs have defeated the Bills three times in the playoffs since January 2021, including a 38-24 victory that year for a spot in the Super Bowl.

“Every feeling and every journey is different,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said, “because of what you have to go through within the journey. You think about the battles we faced to get here — we lost to the Patriots (in 2019), and we had to overcome that and finally get a (Super Bowl) win. I think this is a different kind of journey. We've been here a couple of times, and we are even hungrier to get there now because what is at stake: a three-peat.”

What’s working

The Chiefs made life miserable for Stroud on Saturday. George Karlaftis had three of their eight sacks, including one on fourth down late to help preserve the win. The most impressive thing about that total is that the Chiefs, who rely heavily on blitzing to get to the quarterback, were able to get pressure without resorting to bringing the house.

What needs help

The Chiefs won despite getting no catches from DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown or JuJu Smith-Schuster. That might work in the divisional round against Houston, especially if Kelce has a big game. It probably won't work in the AFC title game.

Stock up

Xavier Worthy's late-season ascension continued in the playoffs, where the first-round pick had five catches for 45 yards. The highlight for the fleet-footed wide receiver was a leaping, one-handed grab along the sideline early in the game.

Stock down

Isiah Pacheco has not been the same since breaking his fibula in Week 2. He carried five times for 18 yards against Houston, an average of 3.6 yards, and most of that came on a single 10-yard run. Now compare that to Kareem Hunt, who averaged 5.5 yards on his eight carries and scored a touchdown. It's pretty clear who RB1 is these days.

Injuries

Bryan Cook and fellow safety Justin Reid were both shaken up against Houston, but both were able to return. Defensive back Jaylen Watson also came out healthy from his first game since breaking his ankle on Oct. 20 against San Francisco.

Key number

7 — That's the number of consecutive AFC title games for the Chiefs. They have won four of the previous six.

Up next

The Chiefs play the Bills on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Buffalo has won the past four regular-season matchups while Kansas City has won the previous three playoff games, two in the divisional round and once for the AFC title.

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