Texans vs. Chiefs Live Stream: How to Watch, TV Channel, Start Time

Out to avenge one of their home losses and return to the AFC title game for a second straight season, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs look to deny the Houston Texans their first conference championship game appearance in club history as the teams meet in the divisional round Sunday.

But the Texans led 21-0 after the first quarter, benefiting from two costly special teams errors from the Chiefs. After already leading 7-0, the Texans' Barkevious Mingo blocked a punt deep in Kansas City territory and special teamer Lonnie Johnson Jr. returned it for a TD. A Tyreek Hill dropped-punt minutes later led to another short TD pass from Watson.

The Chiefs would answer in the second quarter, scoring four touchdowns in the second quarter, three of them coming in just 3:24 of gameplay, to take a 28-24 lead into the halftime locker room.

Kansas City would score on six-straight possessions en route to its 20-pont victory. 

How to Watch

When: Sunday, Jan. 12

Time: 3:05 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Live Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

Deshaun Watson and the Texans punched their ticket for a second trip to Kansas City last Saturday by rallying for a 22-19 overtime victory against Buffalo in the wild card round. Watson sparked Houston’s rally from a 16-0, third-quarter deficit with a 20-yard touchdown scramble that briefly gave the Texans a short-lived 19-16 lead with a scoring toss to Carlos Hyde.

In the extra period, Watson completed a key 18-yard pass to Duke Johnson on 3rd and 18 and then found Taiwan Jones for a 34-yard completion to set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 28-yard game-winning field goal with 3:23 to play.

These two teams met in the regular season, with the Texans (11-6) shaking off an early 14-point deficit in Week 6, scoring three second-quarter touchdowns and rallying one more time for a 31-24 victory at Kansas City. Watson accounted for three total touchdowns.

This is the fourth time in franchise history the Texans are in the divisional round, having lost to Baltimore in the 2012 postseason and New England in both 2013 and 2017. Like all three previous games, they were on the road. Houston has also lost its only previous playoff matchup with Kansas City, with head coach Bill O’Brien’s team blasted 30-0 at home in the wild card round in 2016.

After missing the final eight games of the regular season with a torn pectoral muscle, star defensive end J.J. Watt showed effectiveness on the field when in the game. He had two tackles and a pivotal sack vs. Bills. Houston had issues stopping the run, with dual-threat Bills quarterback Josh Allen rushing for 92 of the team’s 172, while Buffalo converted 11 of 21 on third down.

Despite being sacked seven times, Watson was highly efficient when given time to throw, as he completed 20 of 25 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, which was a far better performance than his postseason debut last year in a loss to Indianapolis in the wild card round. Watson has thrown for 541 yards and six TDs in his two career matchups with Kansas City, including a five-touchdown performance in a 42-34 loss in 2017 as a rookie.

Watson may also have his full receiving corps available for this game, as Will Fuller could play after sitting out last Saturday’s win with a groin injury. Fuller was second on the team with 49 receptions for 670 yards and would help take some of the pressure off DeAndre Hopkins, who had six catches for 90 yards vs. Bills.

The No. 2 seeded Chiefs got to watch wild-card weekend unfold and were gifted the elimination of the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots by the Tennessee Titans. Kansas City claimed its fourth consecutive AFC West title and posted its third 12-win season in that span, and while Mahomes did not have the jaw-dropping numbers of his 2018 MVP campaign, he was still plenty effective in throwing for 4,031 yards and 26 TDs with only five interceptions, while missing two-plus games with a knee injury.

The Chiefs were also without three starters offensively in their loss to the Texans, as linemen Eric Fisher and Andrew Wylie were injured, along with wide receiver Sammy Watkins. On defense, the absences of Anthony Hitchens and Chris Jones were contributing factors to Houston rolling up 192 rushing yards, including 116 by Carlos Hyde, as the Chiefs had the ball for only 20-plus minutes.

All are expected to play in this game after the Chiefs closed the season on a six-game winning streak. But what stood out during that run compared to last year was Kansas City’s defense, which held opponents to an average of 11.5 points in those wins and recorded 11 takeaways. The Chiefs are 6-1 when forcing two or more turnovers, but its lone loss came to Houston after notching three.

What the Chiefs lack in a standout runner—Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy’s 963 combined rushing yards were less than Hyde’s total (1,070)—they make up for with a potent passing attack. Tight end Travis Kelce is coming off a monstrous season with 97 receptions for 1,229 yards, and Tyreek Hill contributed 58 catches, 860 yards and a team-best seven TDs despite missing four games due to injury. Kansas City, which has never been to back-to-back conference title games in franchise history, is 1-2 all-time at home vs. Houston.

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Texans: Will Fuller Hopeful To Play
Chiefs: Travis Kelce Questionable To Play