Chiefs end 22-year playoff drought with huge win over Texans

Jay Asser 09:36 11/01/2016
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  • Kansas CIty's Alex Smith.

    Facing their own playoff drought, the Kansas City Chiefs had little trouble ending a 22-year run without a postseason win by thumping the Houston Texans 30-0.

    Kansas City entered the postseason with an NFL-best 10-game winning streak and continued their red hot play by shutting out a meagre Texans offence.

    The Chiefs previously held the third-longest active streak without a post-season victory with their most recent success coming ironically against the Houston Oilers in the Divisional round of 1994.

    “Was it 1994? I didn’t feel it, but I know how important it is, too,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “You get to the playoffs, and first round, if things don’t go well, that rips your heart out.”

    The Chiefs defence held Houston to 226 total yards and forced quarterback Brian Hoyer to throw four interceptions and lose a fumble.

    “We wanted to come in and dominate,” said Kansas City safety Eric Berry, who was one of four players to pick off Hoyer. “Right now we are locked in and ready for next week.”

    The only downside in the victory was the loss of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the third quarter to a knee injury. As the main target for Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, Maclin had a career-high 87 catches for 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season.

    Although the severity of the injury is unclear, Maclin has already suffered two ACL tears – most recently in 2013 with the Philadelphia Eagles and in 2009 during his college days at Missouri.

    Kansas City move on to face the New England Patriots on the road this Saturday

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