Remember the spirited call from Kansas City Chiefs radio broadcaster Mitch Holthus two AFC Championship Games ago?
“You can doubt the Chiefs! You can dislike the Chiefs! You can disrespect the Chiefs! You’re gonna have to deal with the Chiefs,” he roared, as Kansas City secured its fourth conference title in five seasons.
The Chiefs made it five out of six AFC crowns a year ago, and while a berth in Super Bowl LX – let alone the playoffs – appears dire with KC sitting at 6–6 entering Sunday’s visit from surging Houston, the door isn’t fully closed.
The Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys might have imagined Holthus adding, “You’re gonna have to hobble the Chiefs!” after narrowly defeating KC in the past month. Yet no one has truly subdued them.
With Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes still at the helm, that remains a tough task.
Let’s be clear: The Chiefs are 10th in the AFC, where only the top seven teams reach the postseason. They’ve seemingly lost their magic in one-possession games (though not their JuJu — as in the intermittently productive Smith-Schuster) and are battling injuries along the offensive line.
There’s defensive inconsistency as well. Dallas converted 9 of 16 third downs in its 31–28 Thanksgiving win, piling up 457 yards.
The Chiefs gained nearly 100 fewer yards, were flagged 10 times for 119 yards, and still lost by only three. That’s no anomaly. Mahomes completed 67.7% of his passes with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in his sharpest outing since a run of home wins against Detroit, Las Vegas and Washington to close October.
Houston (7–5) presents a stiff test. The Texans allow just 265.7 yards per game — best in the NFL — including a fourth-ranked pass defense yielding only 174 yards per game through the air.
The Texans have brought strong defenses into previous matchups with the Chiefs and have little to show for it. Since losing his first game against Houston in Week 6 of 2019, Mahomes has won five straight, playoffs included.
In four regular-season meetings since, Mahomes has averaged 270 passing yards with nine touchdowns and one interception. He also has two rushing TDs on 5.9 yards per carry — the escape-and-create ability Houston knows all too well and must contain.
“He’s not really looking to scramble and run the ball like he is looking to throw the ball,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “His eyes are always downfield. So (the) secondary has to be aware of that. Making sure you’re sticky on your coverage.”
Even that may not be enough.
Mahomes and Reid have faced a 6–6 crossroads before. In 2017, Mahomes’ rookie season, the Chiefs won their final four games to snag a wild-card spot.
Reid offered caution this week to anyone eager to write KC’s epitaph, even as playoff projection models trend that way.
“You look at our season,” Reid said, “we’re one or two plays off. And we take care of that — whether it’s a penalty at a crucial time, a possible turnover somewhere, or having a chance to create a turnover — we are right in position where if we can figure out those two, three plays, you flip this around.”
You’re gonna have to eliminate the Chiefs from playoff contention if you don’t want to deal with them beyond Week 18.
They’re teetering, sure. But as KC sees it, that just means another opportunity to bounce back — even as the chances grow thin.
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