‘Knockout!’ Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce to Super Bowl with AFC Title Win Over Ravens
The Houston Texans as an organization know the ropes when it comes to the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs.
And this current edition of the restocking Texans? They have fresh knowledge when it comes to the elite Baltimore Ravens, too.
And therefore Sunday’s AFC Championship Game outcome - - constitutes a foundational double-classroom experience for the Texans.
“Those boys deserve it!” are the Texans words that reflect the excellence of the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens, who last week booted the upstart Texans, 34-10, from the postseason.
Maybe. But Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and the Chiefs deserved it more. Again.
Chiefs QB Mahomes and Jackson faced each other for the first time in the playoffs, with Mahomes having said of Lamar, “He’s going to be the MVP for a reason. He leads his team. He scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win, and that’s what the greats do.''
Jackson countered with his complimentary view, predicting, "I believe it’s just two greats - up-and-coming greats - just going toe to toe, like a heavyweight fight.”
The Texans can testify to that, as their last trip to the playoffs was ended when Mahomes' Chiefs beat the 2019 team in the divisional round, 51-31 - after that Bill O'Brien-coached team lost a 24-0 lead. ... with Mahomes tossing five TD passes to lead an infamous outcome.
This game had some of that "heavyweight'' stuff, and plenty of Taylor Swift, too, the pop star in Baltimore's building watching her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Kelce.
But this AFC title bout featured "knockouts'' from Mahomes (30 of 39 for 241 yards) and Kelce (11 catches, 10 in the first half, for 116 yards and a score) ... and for the Ravens, self-induced tumbles especially from rookie Zay Flowers.
Flowers used his brilliant speed to catch an early TD pass from Jackson. But the Ravens stayed stuck on that "7'' for most of the game, even after Flowers made two terrific plays punctuated by two bonehead plays. He taunted the Chiefs after a big gain, and then once his Ravens almost overcame that, he later carried to the goal-line but fumbled.
And what should've been a three-point deficit stayed at 17-7.
Making matters worse for Flowers (five catches, 115 yards) : Angry about the errors, upon his return to the sideline he violently struck the metal bench ... and sustained a laceration on his hand.
Once Jackson (20 of 37 passing for 272 yards, plus 54 rushing yards) tossed an end-zone interception into triple coverage in near the six-minute mark, the outcome was virtually sealed, though the Ravens managed a late field goal.
"It's been a heck of a year,'' Mahomes said. "But we're not done yet.''
All in all, Baltimore is left staggering by the knockout ... and K.C. is headed back to the Super Bowl (for the fourth time in five years, this time against the NFC winner from Sunday night, the 49ers or the Lions) ... another chance for C.J. Stroud and the up-and-coming Texans to watch, and to learn.
