But Peters, the Chiefs’ Pro Bowl rookie, still got the last laugh as he picked off one of four passes thrown by Houston quarterback Brian Hoyer in a 30-0 win. The way this Chiefs team has turned it around and managed to defeat some pretty formidable opponents should be a worry for the Texans.
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As for the divisional round, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs travelling to face the New England Patriots, while the Steelers getting a regular season rematch on the road against the Denver Broncos. They have the ability to make it far into the playoffs, and this game showcased that to everyone.
Kansas City used a dominating defense and workmanlike offence to crush the mistake prone Texans.
The only downside in the victory was the loss of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the third quarter to a knee injury.
But the Chiefs led just 13-0 until Alex Smith hit Chris Conley for a nine-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Maclin will have an MRI on Sunday.
It was second-longest return in postseason history and the fifth time the opening kick was returned for a touchdown in a playoff game.
It’s exactly what Chiefs Kingdom needs right now-to know that these players aren’t satisfied with breaking one streak and continuing another, that their goals are bigger.
“We’ve got to prepare the team a lot better than we did that night, ” Belichick said during an afternoon conference call with reporters. “We wanted to go out there and play our style of football”.
Brian Hoyer has turned into a turnover machine in his first career playoff start.
There are two Kansas City games on Bill Belichick’s mind right now. “I mean at the end of the game there were thousands of them here, and we feed off of their energy and we feel them”. Dontari Poe recovered it at the Kansas City 42 for the Chiefs and they extended their lead to 10-0 on a 49-yard field goal on the ensuing drive. “I’m happy for the Hunt family and for the fans of Kansas City”.
There was more bad news for the Texans in the third quarter when team leader J.J. Watt, the NFL’s reigning defensive player of the year, left the field with an apparent leg injury and did not return.
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Belichick says he’ll look back at the team’s last meeting, when the Chiefs won 41-14 in Week 4 of last season. It was curious to see him put Watt in the backfield for a goal-line rushing attempt in the first half; and when that failed, Hoyer eventually turned the ball over.
