Chiefs Handle Colts, Win First Home Playoff Game In 25 Years
January 1994. That was the last time the Kansas City Chiefs made it to the AFC Championship Game. On Saturday, that all changed as the Chiefs manhandled the Indianapolis Colts at home to earn their first playoff win at Arrowhead Stadium in 25 years by a final score of 31-13.
From the instant the Kansas City Chiefs took the field, they completely dominated the game versus the Indianapolis Colts. Forcing the Colts to go three and out on their first four drives of the game allowed Patrick Mahomes and the offense to surmount a 17-0 lead early on. Kansas City was marching up and down the field on Indianapolis in the first half with rushing touchdowns by Damien Williams and Tyreek Hill along with a Harrison Butker field goal leading the way for them. But then the Colts got some life as a blocked punt resulted in an end zone recovery by Zach Pascal to pull Indianapolis within 10 points towards the end of the second half. But Mahomes responded quickly and led the Chiefs on a 10-play drive that ended in a four-yard touchdown run by the quarterback to put KC up 24-7. Then it was Andrew Luck's turn as the offense finally got going with under two minutes to go in the quarter. Methodically, Luck worked the Colts down the field to the five-yard line of Kansas City before giving way to Adam Vinatieri for the 23-yard field goal try to pull Indy within two touchdowns. Surprisingly Vinatieri hit the upright, and the kick was no good which sent the Colts to the locker room trailing by 17.
Following a turnover by the Chiefs on downs, the two teams exchanged punts for much of the third quarter before the Colts caught a potential game-changing break. Starting a drive from their own 20-yard line, Mahomes threw the ball to Sammy Watkins, and rookie linebacker Darius Leonard forced the ball loose as well as recovered the fumble. It seemed like the Colts had new life starting in opponent territory as the quarter was winding down. Unfortunately, two plays later Andrew Luck was strip sacked by Dee Ford and Justin Houston recovered the ball for Kansas City at their own 32-yard line. Yet again, the punting ensued back and forth until Luck got Indianapolis going again with a three-minute touchdown drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown grab by T.Y. Hilton to put the Colts behind by just 11 points after Vinatieri missed the extra point.
Now it was up to the defense of the Colts to make a stop and give Indianapolis an outside shot of coming back in the game. After forcing Kansas City into a fourth down situation that required them to punt the ball, linebacker Najee Goode was questionably flagged for running into the kicker which extended the Chiefs' drive. Ultimately, Kansas City would continue driving down the field and rookie running back Darrel Williams would cap it off with a six-yard touchdown run to put the Chiefs in front 31-13 with about two minutes to go. That would be all she wrote from Arrowhead Stadium as the Kansas City Chiefs won their first home playoff game since 1994 and they would await the winner of the Chargers-Patriots game on Sunday.
Chiefs 31, Colts 13
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