KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes threw for 177 yards and a touchdown, most of it going to best buddy Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to advance to the AFC championship game for the seventh consecutive season.
The win also saw head coach Andy Reid become the fourth NFL coach with 300 career wins.
Reid, the former Eagles coach won 130 of those games during his 14 seasons in Philadelphia, leading the Birds to five NFC Championship Game appearances and a trip to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004. When he recorded 200 wins in 2018, he had become just the ninth head coach in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
With girlfriend Taylor Swift watching alongside WNBA star Caitlin Clark from a suite, Kelce had seven catches for 117 yards and a score, helping the Chiefs (16-2) keep alive their dream of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.
The Chiefs are the fourth team in NFL history to follow back-to-back Lombardi Trophies by advancing to the conference title game, and the three previous lost. They will try to change that trend at Arrowhead Stadium next weekend against the Bills or Ravens, who play on Sunday in Buffalo for a shot at dethroning the defending champs.
Mahomes improved 16-3 in the playoffs, tying Joe Montana for the second-most wins in NFL history behind Tom Brady, and he is 7-0 in the divisional round.
The Chiefs host the AFC title game a week from Sunday for the sixth time in seven years. They will play either the Bills, one of two teams to beat them in the regular season, or the Ravens, who lost in Kansas City in Week 1.
Inquirer writer Kerith Gabriel contributed to this report.