Chiefs vs. Texans score, takeaways: Patrick Mahomes looks like himself as Kansas City wins another close game

The Chiefs moved one step closer to locking up the No. 1 seed in the AFC

The Kansas City Chiefs maintained their hold on the AFC's top seed by securing yet another one-score victory, extending their NFL record to 16 games by defeating the visiting Houston Texans by a score of 27-19.

The Chiefs got things started early by picking off C.J. Stroud on Houston's opening drive. Just in case anyone thought Patrick Mahomes would be limited by the high ankle sprain he suffered last week, he quickly quieted those concerns with a pair of scrambles on the Chiefs' first possession, with the second of those runs starting the scoring as he scored a touchdown from 15 yards out.

The Texans would eventually answer back and actually take a 10-7 lead after Stroud found Dalton Schultz for a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Kansas City immediately answered with a Kareem Hunt touchdown run, another interception on Stroud and then a late-half field goal to take a seven-point lead into halftime.

The Texans forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half and actually looked like they were about to tie the game when Stroud lofted a beautiful pass to Tank Dell in the back of the end zone, but Dell suffered a gruesome injury on the play and, after a long delay, Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the extra point. That one-point deficit was the closest Houston would get the rest of the afternoon.

Even after Kansas City turned it over on downs near midfield, the Texans were unable to take advantage; and the Chiefs drove down the field for an Xavier Worthy touchdown on their next drive. After the two teams traded field goals, the Texans had a chance to drive for a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter, but went nowhere after Stroud got dropped for a sack on third-and-long.

All Kansas City had to do after that was run out the clock, which it did with a series of runs and short passes. Standard Chiefs stuff in another standard Chiefs win in what is looking a lot like a standard Chiefs season in the Mahomes-Andy Reid era. 

Why the Chiefs won

Strong game-planning, Mahomes magic and timely turnovers. Kansas City's offensive line has struggled all season, and Andy Reid devised a game plan to account for that. Mahomes repeatedly fired quick passes to Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins, and Travis Kelce repeatedly sat himself down in underneath zones. Mahomes was under pressure often, but only sacked once. The defense, meanwhile, came up with a pair of interceptions to bookend the first half, setting up the offense to score 10 free points.

Why the Texans lost

Major miscues in big moments, and a defense that just couldn't get the big stop. Houston ended its first drive of the game and its last drive of the first half with interceptions. Ka'imi Fairbairn missed an extra point. C.J. Stroud took not one but two delay-of-game penalties in the second half. Dalton Schultz dropped what should have been a third-down conversion late in the third quarter. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik kept calling wide receiver screens that went nowhere. Meanwhile, the Chiefs converted 7 of 13 third downs and 3 of their 4 red zone opportunities into touchdowns, while Houston went just 1 of 3 in the red zone.

Turning point

Late in the second quarter, the Texans had a chance to take the lead -- or at least cut into Kansas City's advantage. They quickly got into Chiefs territory before things started going awry. 

Tank Dell was called for offensive pass interference on a swing pass on first down, setting the Texans back behind the chains. Two incomplete passes later and it was third-and-20 from Kansas City's 40-yard line.

The Texans were in Ka'imi Fairbairn's range, so when C.J. Stroud saw quick pressure, he tried to throw the ball away to preserve a shot at a field goal. But his throwaway didn't actually go away. Instead, it landed in the waiting arms of Trent McDuffie.

Instead of having a chance to take a lead for themselves, the Texans were left defending against the Chiefs extending theirs. They buckled down once Kansas City got just outside the red zone, but the Chiefs took a 17-10 lead into halftime and never trailed again.

Highlight play

The best play of the day was Tank Dell's 30-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter, but Dell unfortunately suffered a gruesome knee injury on the play. (If you really want to watch it, you can do so right here.) So instead, we'll go with the game's first touchdown, where we saw pretty early on that Patrick Mahomes' ankle was just fine.

Mere days after suffering a high ankle sprain, Mahomes had two big scrambles on Kansas City's opening drive, including the one above. He ended the afternoon with three carries for 35 yards and the score, helping move the chains for the Chiefs several times.

What's next

Kansas City is 14-1 and remains the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Chiefs have long since clinched the AFC West and have the inside track for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Next up for K.C. is a Christmas Day game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by a trip to Denver to take on the Broncos in Week 18.

The Texans are now 9-6 and looking like they will be the No. 4 seed in the AFC. They're already AFC South champions, but they've likely fallen too far behind the AFC North winner to move up to No. 3 in the conference. They close out their season by hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas, then traveling to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 18.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 4:05 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

That'll do it, folks. The Chiefs can now kneel on the ball and run out the clock. ANOTHER one-score win for the Chiefs, who will move to 14-1. 

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:58 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Chiefs defense shuts it down

A first-down run for negative yards set the Texans back on their game-tying drive attempt. (What else is new?) And then Stroud fired a ball out of bounds under heavy pressure, then took a third-down sack with Joshua Williams coming unblocked blitzing off the edge. K.C. has a chance to potentially run the clock out here.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:56 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

No Chris Jones out there for the Chiefs defense on this drive. He's questionable to return with a calf injury.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:52 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Missed opportunity

Mahomes tried to fire the ball back across his body to Kelce in the back of the end zone, but Worthy didn't see Kelce behind him and tried to catch it himself. The ball bounced off his hands and fell incomplete, so Harrison Butker knocked a field goal through the uprights to make it an 8-point game once again. Houston has just over 5 minutes to drive for a potential game-tying score.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:38 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans stall, settle for a field goal

Houston again drove into Kansas City territory, but again had issues with negative plays. A first-down run was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. A C.J. Stroud scramble turned into a sack. And Stroud took his second delay-of-game penalty of the half. The Texans ended up settling for a field goal to make it a 5-point game.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:28 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Yet another one-possession game for both the Chiefs and Texans, who have each been great in close contests this year. Fourth quarter coming up.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:23 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Good game plan

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:20 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Xavier Worthy breakout game

This is Worthy's best game of the year, in terms of his overall level of involvement in the offense. He just picked up his seventh catch of the game, and this one goes for a touchdown. (He also has three carries.) Chiefs up by 8 after the extra point.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Perfect ball from Stroud to Schultz on third down but Schultz just straight dropped it. Worth nothing, Stroud and Dell connected on the exact same throw in the exact same situation earlier in the game.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:08 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Texans defense steps up

Kansas City had excellent field position after a great kick return following the Dell touchdown, but Isaiah Pacheco's three carries totaled -1 yard and he was stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-1. Texans take over in Chiefs territory now with a chance to re-take the lead.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 3:01 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Dell's fractured leg came on Dec. 3 of last year. He also suffered a gunshot wound this offseason after a stray bullet went through his leg when he was an innocent bystander. And now this knee injury. So horrible for such a talented, electrifying player.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:58 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

You can see how bad it is by looking at Stroud and Collins, who are absolutely distraught. What an awful, awful scene.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:56 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The cart is out for Dell and he's being taken to the locker room. Ugh.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:56 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Dell scores... but goes down

Oh no. Tank Dell just made a fantastic touchdown catch in the back of the end zone, for arguably his best catch of the year. More than likely ties the game for Houston after the extra point. But in the process, he took a hit to the outside of his knee, which bent in the wrong direction. He knew immediately after he went down that it was a problem. Remember, he fractured his leg at the end of last season as well.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:52 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Y-I-K-E-S. The Texans just burned a timeout on their second play of the half, after an incomplete pass. That is really, really bad -- especially when you're in a one-score game against the Chiefs, on the road.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:50 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Close call

Kamari Lassiter ALMOST picked off Patrick Mahomes. Great play to dive and get his hands on the ball on the crossing route intended for Worthy, who had a step of separation.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:46 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Both Worthy and Dell are on the sideline with their teams to start the second half and look like they're ready to go.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:29 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

K.C. adds a field goal

The Chiefs took advantage of Stroud's second turnover of the game by scoring for a second time. 10 points off turnovers for the Chiefs. And they get the ball to start the second half with a chance to make this a two-score game. 

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:27 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Xavier Worthy limps off

Not ideal for the Chiefs. Worthy has been extremely involved so far today, with 4 catches and 2 rushing attempts. It looked like he fell while running his route before limping to the sideline. KC's wide receiver corps has been banged up all season.

Update: Worthy is QUESTIONABLE to return with an ankle injury.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:22 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Stroud picked AGAIN

Whoo boy. Really bad decision and throw from Stroud on this third-and-20. He was under heavy pressure and tried to jump and just get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, but instead threw it right into Trent McDuffie's arms. Big time missed opportunity for Houston.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:19 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

And now Dell just got called for a seemingly phantom offensive pass interference, then went to the bench to get checked out with some sort of injury. He threw his helmet towards a trainer, which doesn't seem great.

Update: Dell is back after missing one snap.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:14 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tank Dell already has 5 catches. He only had four entire games with 5 catches coming into today. And his 68 yards are already his third-most of the season.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:10 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Chiefs re-take the lead

After a 13-play, 82-yard drive, Kansas City has the lead back. The Chiefs converted four third-down opportunities on the drive, which Kareem Hunt polished off with a 3-yard touchdown run. KC gets the ball coming out in the third quarter, so the Texans will want to put some points on the board here to prevent a double-up opportunity.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 2:07 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jimmie Ward carted off

VERY bad injury news for the Texans. Ward has been a key player in the secondary all season, moving between safety and the slot. He got his ankle rolled up while trying to shake a block from Travis Kelce. 

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:58 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Tough break for the Texans

Wow, a HUGE swing right there. Not only does a review overturn the Mahomes fumble that resulted in a scoop-and-score; because the play was ruled a pass, Tim Settle got called for roughing the passer and gave Kansas City a free 15 yards.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:55 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Hollywood Brown has now played five snaps (all passing plays) and has two catches for 32 yards.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:50 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Stroud strikes back

Really nice job by C.J. Stroud to buy some time in the pocket here by rolling out to his right and drafting just a little bit backward. Dalton Schultz kind of tossed Trent McDuffie aside and freed himself up in the middle of the end zone for the touchdown. Nice bounceback by the Texans after the early interception and subsequent touchdown drive. They're now up 10-7. (Schultz probably could've been called for OPI, and there was probably a hold that prevented George Karlaftis from getting to Stroud, too.)

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:44 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Stroud is bailing the Texans out of some tough third downs. Three conversions already on this drive.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:38 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Big time throw

Things looked really discombobulated for a minute on third-and-medium for the Texans, but Stroud and Collins bailed them out. Stroud was under heavy pressure and just floated the ball into open space before Collins even made his break, and Collins made a great adjustment to get to the ball and then create some yards after the catch.

[Dec 21, 2024 at 1:34 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Mahomes gets dropped, Chiefs punt

Really well-designed blitz from DeMeco Ryans to get a Christian Harris sack on second down. He came totally unblocked through the middle of the line. That sent KC's drive back and Mahomes just checked it down to Travis Kelce for a short gain on third down.