Getty Images Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins and TE Travis Kelce
The Kansas City Chiefs completed a historic postseason comeback over the Houston Texans during last weekend’s AFC Divisional matchup. The Texans jumped out to a commanding 24-0 lead early in the second quarter, only to give up 41 consecutive points (51 in total) to the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes led the unprecedented comeback with 321 passing yards and five touchdowns – three of which landed in the hands of TE Travis Kelce while Sammy Watkins led the wide receiver group with a pair of catches for 76 yards in the winning effort.
However, the day was not all smiles for the 26-year-old wideout.
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Following the game, Watkins candidly told reporters that he believed the game was over once Houston put the game’s first two dozen points on the board.
“Man, this is over,” said Watkins explaining his on-field thoughts at that moment.
The sixth-year receiver then shared that it was Kelce who came over and checked him on his body language while on the sideline. According to Watkins, the impromptu gesture from the Chiefs’ leader shifted his mindset for the remainder of the game.
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Patrick Mahomes Gives Fiery Speech to Spark Comeback
Kelce wasn’t the only player on the Kansas City sideline firing up his teammates when the odds were against them. On Monday, NFL Films tweeted a clip of Mahomes inspiring a few of the Chiefs’ offensive players.
Down by 24, @PatrickMahomes led the @Chiefs in a playoff comeback for the ages.
All starting with this TD.
“They’re playing man coverage, if we catch the ball, make one person miss, it’s a touchdown,” the MVP quarterback said. “Let’s do something special! Let’s do something special, they already counted us the (expletive) out. One play at a time, do something special.”
Following his comments, Mahomes then went on to throw four consecutive touchdown passes in the final 10 minutes before halftime. The first three were on the board in a span of 3:23. The 24-year-old finished the game with five passing touchdowns, setting a new franchise single-game record in the playoffs.
First Injury Update of AFC Championship Week
Kansas City had their first practice of the week on Wednesday and followed shortly thereafter with the first injury report.
LeSean McCoy, Matt Moore, and Chris Jones did not practice today.
Travis Kelce was limited.
The primary concerns heading into Sunday’s AFC Championship matchup versus the Tennessee Titans will be the status of DT Chris Jones (calf) and TE Travis Kelce (knee). The All-Pro tight end was limited following a dominating performance versus the Houston Texans on Sunday. Jones, however, missed last week’s contest after suffering a calf strain at practice in the days leading up to the game. He was one of three players not to participate on Wednesday.
According to NFL Network reporter James Palmer, the decision on Jones is not a matter of pain tolerance, but rather a baseline of ability.
On Chris Jones’ calf, the #Chiefs won’t know if he can injury himself more by playing and they’re not putting him in that position. It is not a pain thing. It’s whether Jones can play to a certain ability is what they’re looking at. Jones will not practice today.
The Chiefs will release an updated injury report on both Thursday and Friday.
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