Kansas City hasn't won a playoff game since future Pro Football Hall of Fame members Joe Montana, Marcus Allen, Will Shields and the late Derrick Thomas were still wearing Chiefs uniforms in 1993.
Expect that 22-season drought to end Saturday against the Houston Texans.
Here are five reasons why I expect Kansas City to win their first-round game at Reliant Stadium.
NO PLAYOFF TEAM IS HOTTER
After a 1-5 start -- with four of those losses to other playoff qualifiers -- Kansas City caught fire and currently sports the league's longest winning streak at 10 games. The Chiefs also outscored the opposition by an NFL-best 150 points during that stretch, triumphing by an average margin of 27.8 to 12.8. Such success makes the Chiefs a confident bunch and legitimate threat to make a deep postseason run. "We've been winning for 10 weeks straight," Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson told media earlier this week. "That doesn't guarantee us an 11th win, but we do have some momentum."
PASS RUSH
Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston is set to return after missing the past five games with a hyperextended knee. Texans left tackle Duane Brown suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury in last Sunday's win over Jacksonville. This doesn't bode well for Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, who already has missed playing time in 2015 with two concussions. Justin Houston's 22 sacks in 2014 were only a half-sack short of the NFL's single-season record held by Michael Strahan. Even with Justin Houston missing time and fellow outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Dee Ford battling injuries, the Chiefs ranked fourth overall in sacks this season with 47.
A STRONG SECONDARY
Kansas City and Denver were the only AFC teams to place two defensive backs on the 2016 Pro Bowl roster in safety Eric Berry and cornerback Marcus Peters. The Chiefs also held opponents to the NFL's second-lowest quarterback rating at 76.0 and finished second in interceptions with 22. That means Kansas City has the tools to keep Texans standout wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in check.
AN EFFICIENT QUARTERBACK
That's a kinder way to describe Alex Smith than the "game-manager" tag that has followed him the past five seasons. While not known as a gunslinger, Smith rarely makes big mistakes like in last Sunday's win over Oakland where he threw two interceptions. Smith went 312 passes without throwing a pick earlier this season, which is the second-longest streak in NFL history. He hasn't lost a fumble either on 84 rushing attempts or when getting sacked 45 times (only 17 came in the second half of the season as the offensive line got its act together, which also coincided with Kansas City's turnaround). Smith's ball-protection helped the Chiefs finish with an AFC-best turnover differential of plus-14.
Head coach Andy Reid has a 5-0 career record against the Texans, including two victories since his 2013 arrival in Kansas City. This includes the Chiefs' 27-20 win over Houston in the 2015 season-opener that was more lopsided than the score appeared. Reid appears to have sound knowledge on how to stymie Houston although the Chiefs must do a better job blocking Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who had nine tackles and two sacks in that Week One encounter.
