Tale of two cities: KC, Texans meet in wild card showdown

But the Chiefs kept their visitors in the game, as the normally accurate Smith threw a pair of interceptions less than three minutes apart in the second quarter.

Smith can also hurt you with his legs if defenses lose contain on the veteran quarterback.

Since 2011, Smith ranks second in interception percentage, throwing a pick on just 1.4 percent of his attempts. With over 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns, Maclin (and tight end Travis Kelce) has been critical in adding another dimension to the Chiefs’ offense.

The Chiefs have recorded eight straight losses in the playoffs, both straight up and against the spread, most recently dropping a 45-44 decision to the Indianapolis Colts as an AFC Wild Card in January, 2014.

NOTES: Maclin briefly left the game with a bruised hip.

The Chiefs got three touchdowns from Smith in the Week 1 showdown, a great sign as even Charles could only gain 57 yards against the Houston defense.

The Houston Texans (9-7) pulled off a remarkable season by winning the AFC South. The Texans defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 30-6, to finish the regular season. Watt, playing without a cast for the first time in weeks, couldn’t be blocked. One team started the year 2-5. Kansas City will draw the NFC South in the cross-over NFC/AFC games, meaning that the Saints and Falcons will travel to Arrowhead Stadium, while KC travels to Atlanta and Carolina. After finishing 9-7 a year ago and missing the postseason, Kansas City matched its 2013 record and once again earned a playoff berth out of the AFC West Division. However, if Houston’s running the ball well, it really gives Hopkins the chance to demonstrate how good he’s become in just a few years of National Football League play. As a result, it would benefit Alex Smith to get the ball out as quickly as possible so that his wide receivers can catch the ball in as much open space as possible.

Safety Eric Berry rounds out a top secondary. If the defense struggles though, the Texans could be in for a long day. The sports betting experts take a gander at the big contest between the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will make a short trip to Cincinnati to play the Bengals.

The Bengals (12-4) are making their fifth straight playoff appearance but are looking for their first playoff win since 1990. “They understand what type of team they have”. One of those was returned 24 yards for a touchdown by Oakland cornerback David Amerson.

In that 2011 postseason, he threw for 495 yards in two games with five TDs and no INTs. Yards per point defensively says the more miserly is Kansas City forcing 2.5 more.

“It’s been a insane year but we stayed the course”, Hoyer told reporters after the Texans’ game on Sunday. There are times when a good team has an opponent that will stand toe-to-toe with them to the very end and Kansas City was no exception. The game will forever be known for Lin Elliott’s three missed field goals. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana led a 21-point surge with two fourth quarterback touchdown passes, while Marcus Allen’s 21-yard rushing score eventually sealed the deal. But the Chiefs were able to sack Oakland quarterback Derek Carr six times in 39 passing plays, or one every 6.5 times the Raiders quarterback went back to pass.

The Steelers bring in one of the most potent offenses into this game, averaging 26.4 points (5th), 395.4 total yards per game (3rd) and 287.7 passing yards per content (3rd).