The Chiefs had four dropped passes—two of which would have given them first downs—and the Texans led the Chiefs, 21-0, at the end of the first quarter. The Chiefs were a nine-point favorite entering the game.
As Darren Fells caught a 4-yard pass from Deshaun Watson put the Texans ahead, 21-0, Arrowhead Stadium fell silent.
The Texans, playing in their 298th game in team history, had never scored 21 points during the first quarter. And to put the first quarter into context, Kansas City has not trailed by 21 points at any point of any game during quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ tenure. Mahomes put the ball where it needed to be thrown in the first quarter, but one drop after another led to changes in possession.
The Chiefs are the No. 2 seed in the AFC after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the final week of regular season, coupled with the New England Patriots losing at home to the Miami Dolphins. The Chiefs had a bye week during the divisional round, and a win Sunday against the Texans on Sunday would give them home-field advantage in the AFC Championship next Sunday. That’s because the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens lost at home to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday evening.
Now, a Texans win would give Houston home-field against the Titans next Sunday in what would be the third meeting this season of the AFC South rivals.
As the Texans took their three-touchdown lead into the second quarter Sunday, and 24-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter, Twitter users had fun. Here are some of the posts as the game rolled through the second frame and toward halftime. Many of them are making fun of a Titans-Texans matchup in the AFC Championship
Update: The Chiefs got a big kickoff return and needed just two plays to score a touchdown. The Texans then lined up to punt on a fourth down, and a fake punt fell short. The Chiefs needed just three plays to march 33 yards and score another touchdown, chopping Houston’s lead to 24-14 with 8:05 remaining in the first half.
The Texans fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Chiefs scored when Mahomes found Travis Kelce for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 24-21. And with 44 seconds remaining in the half, Mahomes connected with Kelce for another score to give the Chiefs a 28-24 lead right before halftime.
This Twitter encapsulated the thought of a Texans-Titans matchup instead of a highly-anticipated Ravens-Chiefs matchup that would have featured Mahomes against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
