The Houston Texans (8-5) finally prevailed against the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs (6-7) with a 20-10 victory on "Sunday Night Football" that could be the proverbial nail in the Chiefs' 2025 coffin. Houston is now on a five-game winning streak while Kansas City has lost four of its last five games.
The Texans took a 10-0 lead into the locker room after multiple downfield catches of 40-plus yards from wide receiver Nico Collins set up both a 35-yard field goal and a 9-yard touchdown catch by running back Woody Marks.
Houston's offense faltered out of the gate in the second half, punting on their first five drives. That allowed the Chiefs to get back in the game by eventually stringing together a couple scoring drives that ended with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kareem Hunt and a 36-yard field goal from kicker Harrison Butker to tie the game at 10 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid opted to gamble twice on fourth down, and he and Patrick Mahomes came up short twice in a row. Kansas City faced a fourth-and-1 from its own 31, and Mahomes threw a wobbling pass under pressure slightly behind wide receiver Rashee Rice, and the football fell incomplete. This was the deepest in a team's own territory a team had gone for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter of a tie game in 13 years, excluding fake punts per CBS Sports Research. Six plays later, Houston running back Dare Ogunbowale rumbled into the end zone for the go-ahead, 5-yard rushing touchdown. That made Reid even more willing to go for it on the ensuing fourth-and-4 from Kansas City's 41, and the result of the play was the same: a Mahomes throw under duress to Rice that fell incomplete.
Once again, the Chiefs defense forced another Texans punt. Once again, Kansas City's offense just couldn't come through. Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce down the seam for a big gain, or so it seemed. Kelce bobbled the football back into the air, and off the bobble, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted the football. Houston took over at the Chiefs' 26 with 3:40 left to play up 17-10, and they were able to salt the game away from there with a 28-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining.
Stroud (203 yards passing and a touchdown on 15 of 31 passing) thoroughly outdueled Mahomes (160 yards passing and three interceptions on 14 of 33 passing) to put the Chiefs' playoff hopes on life support. Sunday night marked the first game of Mahomes' career with no touchdowns and three interceptions. It's fitting because Week 14 is the night the first iteration of the Mahomes-led Chiefs dynasty truly bit the dust.
Kansas City is now the AFC's No. 10 seed with a 6-7 record through 14 weeks, an identical record as the underperforming Baltimore Ravens and the Miami Dolphins. Yes, the Chiefs aren't mathematically eliminated, but they now have to win out to get to 10-7. Even if they do that, they don't have the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Texans, the AFC's current No. 7 seed.
This is the latest the Chiefs have been under. 500 since 2012, the season before they hired Reid to be their head coach. Never say never, but Kansas City are tracking toward watching the playoffs from the couch in January for the first time since Mahomes became the team's starting quarterback.
Houston has now won eight of their last 10 games following an 0-3 start, positioning them to be the first franchise to reach the playoffs twice after 0-3 starts. The Texans first accomplished the feat in 2018. Their defense is a crucial reason why Houston has forced their way back into the AFC playoff picture: Houston's 2025 defense is the first since Washington in 1985 to allow under 225 yards passing in their first 13 games, according to CBS Sports Research. That's also notable considering the Texans have faced the following Pro Bowl quarterbacks thus far: Mahomes, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Josh Allen.
The Texans remain the NFL's No. 1 scoring (16.0 points per game allowed) and No. total (266.3 total yards per game allowed) defenses through 14 weeks, and it appears they can ride that unit and timely splash plays from Stroud to Nico Collins (four catches for 121 yards receiving vs. the Chiefs on Sunday) back to the playoffs.
Mahomes threw 10 consecutive incompletions, the longest streak of his career on Sunday. He had his first three-interception, no touchdown game of his career on Sunday, which resulted in the worst passer rating (19.8) of his career. The Chiefs went for it on fourth down in their own territory twice, and wide receiver Rashee Rice couldn't haul in the football twice. Tight end Travis Kelce, the future Hall of Famer who has been Mahomes go-to guy his whole career, bobbled a pass in the seam into the game-sealing turnover via an interception to Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
The Chiefs need to blow their entire offensive ecosystem up around Mahomes and Reid. Kelce, who is 36 years old, needs to retire. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy needs to be shown the door. General manager Brett Veach needs to make serious moves to bolster Mahomes' offensive line. Kansas City has a long, painful offseason ahead of their total collapse in 2025.
Houston is now on a five-game winning streak to get to 8-5, just one game back of the Jacksonville Jaguars for first place in the AFC South.
Patrick Mahomes connected with tight end Travis Kelce down the seam for big gain, or so it seemed. Kelce bobbled the football back into the air, and off the bobble, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted the football. Houston takes over at the Chiefs' 26 with 3:40 left to play up 17-10.
Houston lost a total of two yards when it was all said and done on their second drive after the second Kansas City turnover on downs. The Texans' punt traveled down to the Chiefs' 8, so Kansas City needs to travel 92 yards to tie the game with 3:53 left to play.
Feeling even more pressure down seven, the Chiefs went for it again on fourth down from their 41 on a fouth-and-5. Once again, the Texans pass rush pressured Mahomes into incompletion to wide receiver Rashee Rice for another turnover downs. Houston likely needs just a single down to get within field goal range to back up multiple scores. The Texans lead 17-10 with 5:26 left to play.
Houston gets back on top 17-10 with 6:56 left to play on a five-yard rushing touchdown from running back Dare Ogunbowale. It was a bruising run that included a couple of broken tackles en route to the end zone. The Texans made the Chiefs fully pay for their choice to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 31 by taking the turnover on downs and turning into seven points. Kansas City has 6:56 left to play down by seven.
Kansas City rolled the dice in a defensive slugfest on fourth-and-1- from their own 31, and it didn't work. Patrick Mahomes threw a wobbling throw under pressure slightly behind wide receiver Rashee Rice, and the football fell incomplete. Now, the Texans begin their next drive in field goal range in a 10-10 game with 10:18 left to play. That decision is jarring considering Houston had punted on their first five drives of the second half.
Houston cornerback Kamari Lassiter acted as the intended receiver on Patrick Mahomes' third-and-6 heave. Mahomes throwing off of his back foot caused an underthrow that right to Lassiter. The Texans offense will start their next drive at their own 16 in a 10-10 game to begin the fourth quarter.
Three consecutive Texans punts to begin the half have allowed the Chiefs to get back in it. Harrison Butker's 36-yard field goal ties the game at 10 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
Kansas City is now without their top cornerback.
Stroud opened the second half with four straight incompletions as the Chiefs continue to shrink his pocket. That's resulted in back to back three-and-outs for Houston to begin the half. The Chiefs take over at their own 4 after the latest Texans punt trailing 10-7 with 9:03 left in the third quarter.
Facing a fourth-and-1 at the 2, Kansas City running back Kareem Hunt plunged into the end zone for a two-yard touchdown on a shotgun handoff. That play felt like it was the Chiefs' season, and Kansas City still has some life left. They trail the Texans 10-7 with 9:52 left in the third quarter.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud had Xavier Hutchinson open over the middle on third-and-14 well beyond the sticks, but he sailed the pass for an incompletion. Kansas City will take the field for the first time trailing 10-0 at their own 44.
It just hasn't been the Chiefs' year in 2025.
Texans safety Jalen Pitre deflected Patrick Mahomes' pass intended for wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster into the air, ran back behind the airborne football to reel it in for the game's first takeaway. Houston takes over on their own 43 up 10-0 with 8:34 left to play.
The Chiefs left Texans rookie running back Woody Marks alone after blitzing on third-and-goal, and that allowed quarterback C.J. Stroud to loft a touch pass to him unhindered. Marks then jogged into the end zone untouched for a nine-yard score, the first touchdown of the night. The Texans lead 10-0 with 9:24 left in the half.
Stroud's cross-body throw found Collins right between the numbers off the scramble, and after tight end Cade Stover provided Collins with a key block, Houston ended up with a 53-yard gain down to the Chiefs' 7. Collins is up to 103 yards receiving on three catches early.
Houston picked up a first down on a tush push sneak by tight end Cade Stover, but an offensive offsides penalty nullified the play. Facing a fourth-and-5, the Texans banged through a 35-yard field goal for the first points of the night. Houston leads Kansas City 3-0 with 4:18 left in the first quarter.
Stroud launched a play-action bomb to wide receiver Nico Collins for a diving, 46-yard gain down to the Chiefs' 21. More bad injury luck for Kansas City as top corner Trent McDuffie suffered an injury upon bringing Collins down to the ground.
Houston picked up one first down, via a defensive holding penalty, before being forced to punt. Given the cold weather and the strengths of these defenses, a low-scoring affair could certainly occur. No score with 9:16 left in the first quarter, and the Chiefs will start their second drive at their own 25.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes hit tight end Noah Gray right in the hands over the middle of the field, and he dropped the ball. Rough start to the night for the Chiefs
Week 14 was Morris' first start of the season, and now undrafted rookie Esa Pole is in at left tackle for Kansas City
Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL in passing yards per game outside the pocket (73.4) this season, but the Houston Texans are allowing an NFL-low 11 passing yards per game outside the pocket. A big key to that stat for Houston is their Pro Bowl edge rusher duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter: their 44.0 sacks in the last two years are the most in the NFL by a duo.
Houston is No. 1 in both scoring defense (16.5 points per game allowed) and total defense (265.7 total yards per game allowed). No team in the Super Bowl era, since 1966, has missed the playoffs with both the top scoring and total defense.
Kansas City won all 12 of their one-score games in 2024, the most such wins all-time including the playoffs. In 2025, they're just 1-6, a figure that includes a 31-28 defeat at the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in Week 13. That's despite Patrick Mahomes throwing four touchdowns, his first career loss with at least four touchdowns thrown and no interceptions.
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Kansas City is 5-1 at home this season while they are just 1-5 on the road in 2025. They've lost four road games in a row, which is tied for the longest such streak under head coach Andy Reid.
Mahomes' six losses in 2023 are tied for the most in a season of his career along with 2023, a year that ended with the Chiefs hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy. Mahomes is seeking his 112th win since becoming a full-time starting quarterback in 2018, including the playoffs. That would tie Tom Brady for the most every by a quarterback in an eight-year span.
| Most losses in a season, Patrick Mahomes' career as starter | W-L | Season result |
|---|---|---|
2025 | 6-6 | ? |
2023 | 10-6 | W, Super Bowl |
2021 | 12-5 | L, AFC championship |
