Texans fall short against Chiefs as season ends in playoff loss: ‘We have to be better. We were not good enough’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Another exercise in excruciating frustration. Another time for untimely unforced mistakes. And yet another painful defeat absorbed by the Texans to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs.

How the Texans came up short for the sixth time in franchise history in a 23-14 defeat as the only AFC South team to never advance to the AFC championship game represents a study in lost opportunities.

Because of tackling and coverage breakdowns, an extremely rough day for kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn with two missed field goals, including one blocked along with a flubbed extra point wide right, far too many penalties, including a few questionable roughing-the-passer penalties assessed to the defense for hits on Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a slow start, the Texans’ season ended Saturday night at freezing-cold Arrowhead Stadium. The Texans finished the season 11-8 overall for the second year in a row with a loss in the AFC South divisional round on the road, one year after losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.

“Where we stand right now, we have to be better,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We were not good enough to beat a really good football team. When we can do the things we need to do consistently all the time, that is when we are going to be able to come here and be in this spot and win a football game. Unfortunately, we still have things we need to clean up of our own.”

One week after intercepting Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert four times, the Texans had no interceptions against an efficient, careful veteran quarterback in Mahomes. The former NFL and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player completed 16 of 25 passes for a modest 177 yards and was sacked three times. However, Mahomes made the plays he needed to advance his team to the AFC title game. He had a 98.2 passer rating.

Between a missed 55-yard field goal by Fairbairn and a missed extra point and eight penalties for 82 yards, the Texans hurt their own cause several times.

How Mahomes, who improved to 7-0 in the divisional round with 17 career touchdowns and no interceptions, orchestrated a game-deciding drive put the game away and answered the Texans’ impressive march to start the second half.

It was Mahomes who marched the Chiefs 81 yards on 18 plays, capping the drive with his falling-down dart to veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who delivered his NFL playoff record ninth 100-yard performance to surpass Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. That touchdown boosted the Chiefs’ lead to 20-12.

“Those are mental miscues,” Ryans said of the coverage breakdowns and missed tackles. “I wish I had more for you, but they were just mental miscues in coverage where we have done it before. Unfortunately, for today, for some reason in the biggest moment, we don’t get it done.”

And the Texans were unable to match that score as Stroud was sacked for a loss of 16 yards on 4th-and-10 from the Chiefs’ 40-yard line to end a once-promising drive. He was sacked by defensive end George Karlaftis as Stroud took his fourth sack of the game. He was sacked eight times overall, hit 14 times in a recurring theme to the season as pass protection breakdowns plagued the offense.

On third down, Stroud was hit hard by blitzing safety Justin Reid, the former Texans starter and team captain, to force an incompletion.

After trailing 13-6 at halftime, the Texans engineered an outstanding drive that brought them to within one point of tying the Chiefs.

The Texans began the second half with a commanding 15-play, 82-yard drive that took 10 minutes and 24 seconds off the clock. After bringing the game to within, 13-12, Fairbairn missed his extra point try wide right.

The Texans never threatened to take control of the game after that misfire.

“I am walking out of here discouraged,” Ryans said. “This one hurts because I know we are a better football team than we showed today, no matter who we are playing against. To go back and still have to talk about mistakes that we made in this moment, it is discouraging to be here.

“We have to be over that at this point in the playoffs in post season football. You have to be at your best. You have to be operating on all cylinders. For us, we didn’t do that today and that is what I am discouraged about today.”

The game got off to an ugly start when reserve cornerback Kris Boyd forced a fumble that the Chiefs recovered. Boyd then threw his helmet in frustration and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the 63-yard kickoff return. Then, Boyd, perhaps trying to demonstrate what happened, shoved irate special teams coordinator Frank Ross. Cooler heads prevailed and Boyd remained in the game despite the sideline confrontation.

Stroud completed 19 of 28 passes for 245 yards with no scores and was sacked eight times and hit 14 times overall. He was under heavy duress far too often and he held the football too long at times.

Overall, the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year continued to display growth in his second NFL season as he overcame adversity and gutted it out, including Saturday when his ankle was clearly bothering him and he didn’t miss a snap.

“I think we grew tremendously, I would say as a collective and personally,” Stroud said. “This year has had ups and downs, but I’m grateful for it all. It’s hard to learn on the mountain top and in the wilderness. The valley is where you get your learning experiences. God is teaching you things at that time. This year has been one of those tough years. I learned more than ever that my rock is Jesus Christ. Whenever I hit rock bottom, I know I can lean on him.

“I’m not going to hold my head down but at the same time, it sucks to come out here and lose in the divisional round again. I’m super grateful for the tough and good times. We can’t continue to shoot ourselves in the foot and then not overcome and expect to win. You have to overcome those things because things are bound to happen in the NFL, especially in the playoffs, it’s not perfectly what you draw but it’s about making the plays. The more plays you make, the better chance you give yourself to win the game.”

Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon rushed for 88 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown after missing one practice during the week with an ankle injury. His status for the game was never really in question and he played extremely well.

Mixon rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns during the regular season and 106 yards and one more score in the AFC wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Signed to a three-year, $27 million contract extension after being acquired in an offseason trade from the Cincinnati Bengals, Mixon emerged as a hard-nosed and plainspoken team leader who was voted a team captain. He rushed for a combined 194 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs.

“I’m just proud of our guys and how they battled all year,” Mixon said. “Obviously dealing with a lot of injuries and things like that, it hurts. You still have to find a way. I still feel like we had a chance. Everything comes down to execution. We had a chance. Sixty minutes, that’s all you get..”

What does it take to take the next step?

“First of all, we got to stay healthy,” Mixon said. “It comes down to key moments in the game. We just came up short. As much as it’s frustrating, everyone played through injuries and did whatever they could for their brother. It’s all about execution. I talked about that all year with you guys. We didn’t execute the way that we should.

“Margin for error, especially in the playoffs, is super small. It’s a long offseason. I’m going to encourage guys to do everything they can to wind down. It just sucks to be in this moment again. You got to do whatever you can to seize this opportunity. Things like this don’t come around often.”

Mixon said his ankle was a nonfactor. He was always going to answer the bell.

“I mean we’re in the AFC divisional round, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to tough it out for my teammates, I’ve been battling injuries all year head to toe,” Mixon said. “When it comes down to it, I’m going to give it my all. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured. I did whatever I could, bro. I left it all out there: blood, sweat and tears.”

The Texans had trouble complementing wide receiver Nico Collins, who finished with five catches for 81 yards on eight targets as tight end Dalton Schultz caught four passes for 63 yards and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson finished with four catches for 52 yards.

“It’s a long season, it’s a marathon, I feel like in order for us to get to where we want to go, we need all our pieces,” Collins said. “Everybody that wasn’t here, we held it down for them. We need to continue to grow, continue to learn.”

Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., played outstanding as he recorded four tackles, two sacks and three tackles for losses with two quarterback hits.

The Texans lost despite holding Mahomes to 177 yards and Kansas City to 212 yards of total offense. The Texans are now the only team in NFL playoff history to lose a game despite outgaining their opponent by over 100 yards -- the Texans finished with 336 yards of total offense led by quarterback C.J. Stroud -- breaking a streak of 49 wins and no losses before Saturday.

“Be honest, go back and watch the game,” Anderson said. “It’s what I told y’all earlier this week. It was nothing they did. It was all us. Busted alignments, out of place, we can’t have that if we want to beat teams like this. Granted, they are a good team, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like we were the better team, but we shot ourselves in the foot again. We have to find some way to get us over this hump and stop making the same mistakes over and over and over again.

“We can’t be lackadaisical with anything. We’ve got to stay on edge with everything and coach Ryans says it’s all the time. I feel like too many guys are comfortable, and I don’t like comfortable. We’re going to roll into the offseason and keep getting the right guys in the building and keep this thing rolling. I’m excited about it. We get another (opportunity). We have C.J. as our quarterback and he’s the best. I believe in him and I think he’s going to lead us to a Super Bowl one day.”

The Texans served notice again that they’re a legitimate playoff contender even as they head into the offseason with multiple questions swirling around an offensive line that allowed Stroud to be sacked 52 times during the regular season.

The Texans need to bolster the receiver position to go with Collins with wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell heading into the offseason rehabbing major knee injuries.

What isn’t in question, though, is the Texans’ competitiveness, talent that dots the entire roster and a strong camaraderie that defines their locker room.

To win games like this in the future, they’ll need to upgrade their roster and play mistake-free football.

Until they do, there will remain a gap between the Texans and elite teams like the Chiefs.

The Texans are close to being the kind of football team they want to be as long as they continue to build the personnel on both sides of the football and address the offensive line and wide receiver positions undoubtedly in free agency and the NFL draft.

“I don’t feel like we are that far away,” Ryans said. “These teams are not in a whole different tier than us. It is a matter of doing what we are supposed to do and we will be just fine.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.