>>> espn welcomes you to the following presentation of the national football league. >> mike: those of you watching on abc, welcome.
Nfl Single Game Receiving Record, the spanish language espn deportes broadcast is available during the sap functions on your remote.
super bowl li will be played here next season and the playoff road to super bowl 50 begins on the home field for bill o'brien. five years in the system with the patriots. he called the plays for super bowl xlvi. today's first nfl playoff game
as a head coach. on the other side, andy reid. only bill belichick among active nfl head coaches has coached in more playoff games. this is andy's 21st. you heard some chiefs fans at the end of the national anthem, but there are a ton of texans
fans. this is the nfl's first retractible roof stadium. the roof is closed. it is going to be loud with 71,000 ready to roar. houston has won the toss, deferred. so kansas city will receive.
alex smith, jeremy maclin and the chiefs will take the field first. nick novak to kick it. 12 teams living the dream. the 11 best games of the year to crown one champion. off we go with the playoffs, and knile davis will bring it out
from six deep. davis across the 15, davis is gone! knile davis starts the playoffs with a bang, 106 yards, touchdown chiefs! >> jon: well blocked, mike. that's one way to shut the crowd out.
an opening 105-yard return by knile davis. and andy reid loves it. watch knile davis pick up a couple blocks. 32, ware, 82 harris, spring davis and you will not catch knile davis in the open air. >> mike: knile davis had a
108-yard kickoff return, a chiefs record against denver in the regular season in 2013, but with one of the longest plays in playoff history, 106 yards, he starts the playoffs with a bang. brazilian-born kicker, cairo santos kicks the extra point. very much like their regular
season game, houston is digging out of a hole right away in just 11 seconds. >> jon: kansas city chiefs have started fast in the last three weeks. andy reid's offense has scored on their opening possession. that time his special teams
deliver, and what a road team andy reid's chiefs have been during this ten-game winning streak, mike. >> mike: the opening kickoff taken back for a touchdown in the playoff game, it's just the fifth time it's happened. the last time was devin hester
in the super bowl. those special teams for the bears and all those records for devin hester authored by dave toub, an outstanding special teams coordinator. he's the special teams coordinator for the chiefs. knile davis off to the races and
gets the playoffs started with a kc touchdown. there is the best in the business. add one more line to his resume. >> jon: give knile davis credit, mike. he was supposed to fill in for jamaal charles.
he's taken a back seat. all he can do is contribute on special teams. what a play by davis. >> mike: now santos with the kickoff. this is one way to avoid a kick return for a touchdown, and it's a touchback.
already down 7-0 brian hoyer has to come out, undrafted out of michigan state, tom brady's backup. a kid born in cleveland, he had the dream. he wanted to be like bernie kosar and he had the opportunity.
started for his hometown team, the browns, but was bumped by johnny manziel mania. last we saw manziel was a blonde wig in a casino in las vegas. now we see hoyer starting a playoff game for the houston texans. jonathan grimes is in there as a
receiver. comes in motion in the first play as he gives it to the running back, alfred blue. he'll keep the pile going and gain three yards. so it's blue and a variety of backs because arian foster is gone.
he's been gone most of the year. deandre hopkins is their number one receiver. jon, you want to watch chris clark is in for duane brown, who's out. >> jon: that's a huge assignment here against tamba hali, one of the great pass rushers in chiefs
history at the bottom of the screen. >> mike: officially blue for four. second and six and hoyer through the sun to nate washington incomplete. and with the windows here, that angle looks right back in the
sun. >> jon: brian hoyer knows this offense extremely well. he's mentally tough. he keeps coming back. but can he do it again? last time he played the chiefs, he was booed, benched, and he was beat up by this chief pass
rush. third down and long, you don't want to be here against this defense. >> mike: the return of justin houston, great edge rusher, could factor in. pressure comes across the middle, it's incomplete.
looking for cecil shorts on the crosser as hoyer got hit from that heavy pressure. it's three-and-out for houston. >> jon: hoyer gets hit right as he delivers the ball, but he's got to make these kinds of throws. tight window completions on
possession down. that time cecil shorts can't bring it home. three-and-out. that's 80 times this season the texans have gone three-and-out. >> mike: shane lechler, second most yards punting in the history of the nfl.
he's got a huge leg. that one 53 yards and here's frankie hammond jr. a flag down. hammond finds open space and hammond gets all the way to the 45 yard line of the texans. however, we did say there was a flag down.
this one looks to be coming back. ron torbert, second year as a referee, sixth year as an nfl official, makes his playoff referee debut. >> referee: during the kick, holding, number 30 of the receiving team, ten yards from
the spot of the -- the end of the kick. kansas city's ball first down, time-out. >> mike: flag on fleming negates a >>> espn's nfl wild card is brought to you by toyota. let's go places.
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nrg stadium right next to the astrodome, no longer in use. coverage today from spider cam brought to you by directv. that 106-yard kickoff return to start the game by knile davis, second longest return in nfl playoff history. jacoby jones had the 108-yarder
in the super bowl for baltimore. alex smith takes over for the chiefs from their own 13. with the throw right away and that pass is reeled in by his terrific tight end, travis kelce, a gain of seven yards. alex smith, jon, his playoff career, kansas city one game,
that big loss after the big lead against indianapolis. then with san francisco, familiar with the postseason, he takes care of the ball. >> jon: very accurate, athletic and smart. and you're going to see a lot at the line of scrimmage today.
>> mike: spencer ware, the second-year man out of lsu is the back. he's back in the air is smith and it's just a gain of a yard for albert wilson. so wilson is one of the receivers. jeremy maclin is the other
feature man with travis kelce to be catching the passes from smith. we highlight the center, zach fulton. jon, in his second year out of tennessee, he starts because mitch morris, the rookie center who started 15 games this year,
is out with a concussion. >> jon: keep an eye on the snaps, the accuracy of the snaps and the communication going to be a big issue all day. >> mike: charcandrick west is the running back after that first down was picked up. they'll throw it out to kelce
with maclin blocking for him and he is hit by johnathan joseph and knocked back. >> jon: you see the quick passes that andy reid has used right away. that ball is out of alex smith's hands as soon as he gets it. they're going to neutralize the
pass rush. j.j. watt, they must minimize watt in this game. use the quick passing game. you'll see some options and bootlegs and a lot of different personnel throughout the game. >> mike: second and six. that is a zone read keep by
tackled by brian cushing and a yard shy of the first down. what a weapon it is, the running of smith. >> jon: well, he's going to read the back side. this is an area we talked about in the pregame, mike. they run a lot of different
kinds of plays. drop back passes, zone reads, jet sweeps, different personnel groupings. hard offense to prepare for and anything goes on third down and one with andy reid. >> mike: texans haven't been good, they have been great on
third down. but it's usually third and longer than this. this is third and one and it's spencer ware. limited on the gain but he has enough for the first down at the 35 yard line. the defense coordinated by romeo
crennel, so many years around the patriots, former head coach of the chiefs was well. cushing has come back in the middle to be the quarterback of this defense. jon, we look back at the secondary with kareem jackson, johnathan joseph, good corners,
but it all centers around j.j. watt. >> jon: j.j. watt and this pass mercilus at the top of the screen has 12 sacks himself. they have got to get after alex smith. >> mike: a jet sweep which they use a lot.
it's albert wilson on this jet sweep and he'll gain the first down out to the 45 yard line. that's what jon talked about in countdown, mixing the west coast offense with some spread principles. >> jon: they're not even going to block j.j. watt, mike.
they're going to run a jet sweep and that's one way to drive a defensive end crazy. quick passes, zone reads and jet sweeps. taking j.j. watt away early. >> they spotted him just a half yard shy of the 45 so it is second and less than a yard.
pretty good movement on this drive and west picks through the pile. he's going to be close. vince wilfork was there. watt was going after the ball, but it's another first down for kansas city. so we told you that jamaal
charles gets hurt, andy reid has to figure out how to replace the four-time pro bowler and they do it with charcandrick west who ran for 634 yards. just got enough before j.j. watt got to him there. >> jon: west is 210 pounds, very quick and ware is 230 pounds.
two completely different skill sets in the chief backfield. >> mike: and now ware is the running back for first and ten. got away from a would be sack but ran into mercilus, who brings him down. whitney mercilus has had two 3 1/2 sack games this year.
>> jon: they're coming off a huge game against jacksonvillej. this is a blitz, kansas city doesn't pick it up and mercilus with his second effort puts kansas city in second down and 13. >> mike: you mentioned mercilus with the great sack season.
jadeveon clowney would be that complement to j.j. watt. inactive. he left the stadium when he found out he was inactive but since has come back. kelce drops that, it is an incomplete pass. it will be third down.
>> jon: kansas city is using what i call 13 personnel, one back, three tight ends, and it minimizes the amount of nickel defense that romeo crennel can play. so he is using these tight ends to try to take away a lot of the defense that romeo crennel is
going to try to get against him today. that time kelce just dropped the football. >> mike: this is where the texans defense has made its hay in the last six or seven games, third and long. they rush four, smith has time,
he's taking a shot downfield. just over the outstretched arms of albert wilson and alex smith knows he was a yard away from another touchdown. >> jon: wilson ran right by the looky, kevin johnson, top of your screen. that's an old-fashioned route.
start to the post, break back to the corner and hit the post again and alex just overthrew alex wilson. would have been six. >> mike: instead, after ten plays and a drive that started at their own 13, they punt. dustin colquitt, outstanding at
pinning the opposition inside the 10 yard line, keith mumphery is back deep to receive. he's going to run up and grab this one at the 16. kick of 42. >> mike: two young stars, marcus peters, rookie, led the league in interceptions and deandre
hopkins. two pro bowlers. >> jon: peters had an interception early in the game to set up the score. if you keep watching, it was a heck of a battle. deandre hopkins got him twice late in the game but it wasn't
enough. peters is going to play left corner and every time hopkins lines up on the right, he's going to see the rookie in man-to-man situations. here we go. >> mike: what a year hopkins had on offense with four
quarterbacks losing their star, arian foster. he became the star. third in receptions, fourth in receiving yards. texans need him to succeed here first carry, nowhere to go. alfred blue is brought down for no gain.
here is that kansas city 18 points a game, third in the league. dontari poe is playing better on the nose. he had back surgery early on. derrick johnson came back from the achilles last year. houston was out the last five
games and that story of eric berry a year ago, chemotherapy. battling hodgkin's lymphoma. not just on the field this year, not just playing his best football, pro bowler, all pro. what a story, what a season. blue for two. berry is there along with poe to
make the top for kansas city. >> jon: poe is healthy again. and at nose tackle, he is hard to single block. here he is getting off a double team. when you can stop the run, you make teams one-dimensional. when you have to throw the
football against this chief pass rush, good luck. >> mike: he had disk surgery in july and was slow to get going. they were careful with his snaps but he's come along in the last six weeks. empty backfield for third and eight.
hoyer, fires. that ball is intercepted! is that berry? yes, it is! eric berry with the interception, and just like their week one meeting, hoyer throws an interception in his own territory in the first
quarter. >> jon: eric berry, back to the pro bowl. it's a clean catch, mike. poor throw. i have no idea what hoyer is looking at. perhaps he's feeling the rush. protection was excellent.
that was just an ill-advised throw. so far hoyer is off. >> mike: i think he was expecting washington to be in front of the safety. but you think back to that peters interception in week one, it was the same kind of thing.
>> jon: a lot of disguises in this chiefs secondary. that time they get hoyer and set up smith in great field position. >> mike: for berry, his first playoff interception. the chiefs and the run here by spencer ware to the 29 yard
line. and, jon, we talked about berry and chemotherapy this time last year and how he came back. bob sutton, defensive coordinator for the chiefs, told us last night he came back with speed. i don't know that he got faster
but he came back and saw things quicker. the urgency and everything berry has done has been exceptional. >> jon: unbelievable. they have said off of his recovery, big reason why the chiefs have come back from 1-5, eric berry's story.
>> mike: ware gained five. couple of tight ends here on second and five. and smith deflected, intercepted by brian cushing! it was deflected on good coverage by kareem jackson and houston desperately needed that turnover.
>> jon: indeed, a poor throw by alex smith. normally a very accurate passer, he misses, and houston takes advantage. >> mike: a rare mistake by alex >> mike: postseason starts with this game and ends with the super bowl.
a week before the super bowl, it's the pro bowl back in hawaii. we'll be over there for the draft and jerry rice and michael irvin, the captains, pick the teams and sunday night the game from honolulu on espn. an interception by cushing, who
did not have a takeaway all year. as a matter of fact hasn't had a takeaway since the opener in 2013. it was looked at and confirmed as all turnovers are via replay. and hoyer has to get going. pass, and the gain is barely a
yard. >> jon: they're trying to get hoyer a completion. here is houston, recognizing the bootleg and looks pretty healthy right there, mike. great to see him back in the lineup. he's missed five games.
almost broke michael strahan's sack record last year with 22. if he is his old self, look out. >> mike: cecil shorts coming in tried to block a little bit. a quick hitter with blue. only a gain of a couple of yards to the 20 yard line. dee ford was over there.
he's the third along with hali and houston, those pressure guys off the edge. >> jon: well, you're going to have to use somebody else to block dee ford, not cecil shorts. but dee ford, frank zombo give kansas city a deep group of pass
rushers and they can come throughout the day. >> mike: houston has run eight plays and only have nine yards. ryan griffin, the tight end in motion. blitz coming from the right, hoyer goes there and hopkins gets the texans' first first
down of the day at the 28 yard line. >> jon: overload blitz well recognized by hoyer. they're going to bring four kansas city chiefs to the right side of the formation. watch number 41, grimes, pick it up beautifully.
and hopkins gets the first down after the catch. >> mike: if you watch this play, you saw houston on the end. he did not come down very cleanly on that left knee. you can see he took a misstep and walked very gingerly over to the athletic trainer over to the
side line. watch number 50 in white. here's blue to the right trying to get a block downfield capped off by tamba hali. ron parker with the primary tackle. go back to houston. five weeks he's missed with a
hyperextended left knee that we showed you at the start of the game. he had that brace on. let it go in practice this week. talked all the good talk. as we know, jon, get out in a game it's a little bit different story with another 300-pounder
you're trying to get leverage off of. >> jon: can't simulate game let's hope he's okay. hoyer has a little more time here. going for it, hopkins, flag on peters who was defending. >> jon: it's going to be a big
part of this game. peters and hopkins in one-on-one coverage and pass interference will be a call that will be -- >> referee: pass interference, defense number 22. automatic first down at the spot of the foul. >> jon: awful close to me.
hopkins gets the call. the thing i like about peters is he has been tested all year. as a rookie, he's had the eight interceptions. he's given up some plays. he keeps coming back, he keeps coming back. that's a quality you have to
have to be a great corner. credit to him. >> mike: like you said, jon, the corners don't switch sides so hopkins going a lot to the offense's right. they'll find peters on the defense's left. first down, hoyer, looking
downfield. coming to the other side and it is hopkins on this near side making the catch in front of sean smith for a gain of 11 and a first down. >> jon: that's who they're looking for. deandre hopkins.
he comes out of motion, he's going against sean smith in zone coverage. see if he gets them both in. some fancy footwork by deandre came in here with 111 catches. just 23 years old. >> mike: julio jones, antonio brown, the two who caught more
balls this year than hopkins. this cut by blue, looks like he's tackled by frank zombo when he went back inside. turning a negative play into a gain of a couple. for perspective on his first three seasons in the nfl, 3500 yards.
that's top five in nfl history. we know this is the most prolific passing era, randy moss, and others. last year it was ryan fitzpatrick and tom savage. >> jon: he's had a lot of qbs and it doesn't frustrate him. he loves the challenge.
deandre hopkins, he's special. >> mike: going to the left, patiently waiting for some space. he got out of that tackle by berry and was able to get ahead and get a few more yards. so alfred blue has become the player that's carried it the
most. second year out of lsu, sixth round pick. he flashed against tampa bay this year. he had 31 rushes. he's up to 700 yards. >> jon: and they use jonathan grimes as their third down back,
number 41. >> mike: third and five. with hoyer, had some time, he has his tight end, ryan griffin, for the first down at the 33. griffin got hurt in week one against kansas city. was out half the season. they like him as their option to
throw to a tight end. >> jon: brian hoyer throws the interception. he comes back with a couple completions. deandre hopkins, that time he's accurate to his tight end, griffin. and clark so far at left tackle,
doing a nice job pass protecting. >> mike: nice luxury to have a man who started two super bowls ago, the broncos/seahawks super bowl. clark was the starting left tackle for peyton manning. he's in there for duane brown,
who was injured last week. first down toss to blue. good read by derrick johnson. johnson tore his achilles and was out all last season. as this year went on he felt like his playing speed improved and we saw it right there. >> jon: he's the ring leader of
the kansas city chiefs. he's the all-time leading tackler. he's not going to make this tackle but he goes as hard as he can as long as he can. he rarely comes off the field. undisputed leader of this football team, derrick johnson,
from right here in texas. >> mike: 33 years old and he's still got it. what a year. second and ten, shotgun run. it's been a lot of blue running and he gets to the 30 yard line and houston came back on that play for kansas city.
justin houston, they look at that left knee and he is back in there for the chiefs. >> jon: i like watching bill o'brien work with these backs. they lost arian foster, who did it all. so now they use blue as the first down runner.
they get into the sub, third down situations, they go to grimes. you're going to see some other backs as the game unfolds.+z >> mike: play 11 of this drive and hopkins moves out of the backfield to get picked up by sean smith.
jump by ford was legal, it was knocked down and free. alan bailey knocked it out. it's pinned up against dontari poe and let's see what happened at the bottom of the pile. it belongs to kansas city. >> jon: houston can't handle the chiefs in one-on-one pass
protection. they have got to get help. that ball may have slipped right out of hoyer's hands. >> mike: i thought bailey was going to knock it free. >> referee: the ruling on the field is a fumble, recovered by first down.
time-out on the field. >> mike: poe was the one who pins it to his body and gets the second turnover for the kc defens >> mike: bill o'brien talking with his quarterback, brian hoyer. it's been a mistake-filled first
quarter for the houston offense. then on that play as they were getting close to a field goal attempt on third down, his left tackle was pushed back into hoyer which knocked the ball free. they credit bailey with a sack on that play and poe the
recovery. final seconds opening quarter. chiefs from the 42, and smith throws to the tight end kelce brings it in. it's a gain of 18 to the 40 yard >> jon: what a receiver kelce has become. going to the pro bowl he starts
one way, breaks back to the corner route, beats kareem jackson with his incredible ball skills and range. >> mike: after one, kansas city 7, houston 0. >> mike: second quarter. only one tackle so far for j.j. watt.
these are the ways kansas city is trying to keep him in check. >> jon: i wouldn't be surprised if we see some no-huddle to wear j.j. out. they're using three tight ends to neutralize watt. keep an eye on alex smith. he just needs to settle down.
they have the right game plan so far. >> mike: alex smith just missed a long touchdown a couple of drives ago. here from the texans 40, they hand it to charcandrick west, who gains three. >> jon: here's what they have
done so far to neutralize watt. a little built-in quick screen. j.j. watt can't get there. get the ball to kelce and get positive yardage. then they run a zone read and alex smith sees the blitz, he keeps the ball himself. they run a jet sweep and don't
even block j.j. watt. they have done a nice job mixing their plays, getting the ball off quickly and neutralizing watt so far. >> mike: as you would expect, two very good defenses off the good start. here is west.
that's a tackle after a couple of yards gained. otherwise second-year ban out of abilene christian was running to some daylight. >> jon: andy reid going deep on that sideline sheet. that time he just ran a trap when you have an active pass
rush, you have to slow them down somehow with traps, options, quick passes. and on third down and four, here's alex smith. expect pressure. >> mike: watt working top of the they go the other way. kelce, not going to get there, a
yard short pulled down by the safety, quintin demps. let's see what kansas city will do on fourth and one. they bring out cairo santos, the field goal kicker. >> jon: excellent tackling by the texans. throw the ball to kelce with two
blocks out front and demps has to make that tackle. great work. >> mike: demps was a chief two years ago. keeps kansas city from the first down so dustin colquitt will hold. winchester, rookie snapper, will
send it back to santos, born in sao paolo. from 49 yards. down the middle. and santos gives kansas city a 10-point lead. kickoff return and a field goal. >> mike: what a football weekend.
the playoffs saturday and sunday and then monday night alabama and clemson in glendale for the national championship on all the espn platforms. derrick henry, the heisman winner, helping the tide to another title. the s.e.c. a record season with
yards and touchdowns. how will they deal with him? it will be on glendale monday night. we'll have it for you on anything that has the espn logo on it. 49-yard field goal by santos broke the record of jan
stenerud, longest field goal for the chiefs. he had a 48-yarder in super bowl iv. touchback, they'll take over >>> espn's wild card is brought to you by free state. gmc, we are professional grade. espnfanshop.com powered by
dick's sporting goods. and navy federal credit union, federally insured by mcua. the texans friday at johnson space center. of course so much of our space exploration in the country emanating from that building. currently they're in control of
the international space station. recently entered 15 years, a record of continuous human occupation. we have friends that can get you up there. break down film from there. at the 20, poe is there with the stop.
they have got to get hoyer going. >> jon: he's got to quit turning the ball over. he forced one down the middle and eric berry picked his pocket. then his left tackle, chris clark, gets bull rushed by alan
bailey. that's two turnovers. you don't want to turn the ball over. that was his number one objective. you've got to pick it up if you're brian hoyer. >> mike: already the two against
at the 20, finds hopkins, made a sensational play. let's see where the flag will go as he was dealing with sean he felt he was not down is why he got up to take off. this will be sorted out by the officiating crew. again, this is not ron torbert's
crew that works together all season. the best officials all year round are the ones who work the playoffs. >> referee: prior to the pass, illegal contact, defense, number 21. that penalty is declined.
the result of the play is a >> jon: sean smith is a good corner also. press coverage. just a simple hinge route. good call by the official. deandre hopkins was a great high school basketball player, and he uses that size to gain position.
>> mike: from the 33 on first down, they get to hoyer one more time. it's jaye howard. you know, we talk about houston and hali and dee ford, but bailey and howard and poe inside give a great push. >> jon: great push.
you see howard, number 96, working against the left guard and beats him clean. kansas city likes their matchups across the board. and if they can get in these long yardage situations, it's going to be a long day here in houston.
>> mike: background on howard, for a contract year has had a good season. second and 17. hoyer out of his hands quickly, and it's caught by cecil shorts iii. former jaguar. four years in jacksonville.
minimal gain. still third and long against that's tough stuff. a turn-around for the chiefs where they have won a franchise ten in a row since week seven. second most sacks, second in takeaways. >> jon: those are the kind of
numbers you can ride all the way to the super bowl, mike, if they can get it together on offense, look out. >> mike: quickly on third and 12, hoyer for nate washington, trying to get some more three receiver sets, spread the ball around, but it will be another
short possession for houston. >> jon: i think sean smith is a big reason why the chiefs turned things around. he was suspended the first four games of the season. this is a man-to-man coverage when you have marcus peters on one side and smith on the other,
you better have two good >> mike: they need a lechler boomer here, more of a line drive. still got 50 plus yards out of it. from the 17, frankie hammond, gets past the long snapper gets to the edge and he'll be
shut down at the 30 yard line by houston's akeem dent. 52 on that line drive kick, it was returned 13. former number one overall pick, alex smith, up 10-0 and on the field in a moment. >> mike: it's quiet in nrg stadium since the opening
kickoff return for the touchdown by knile davis. kansas city upfront with some changes. laurent duvernay-tardif is being evaluated for concussion symptoms. so jah reid is in at left guard now.
alex smith taking over from his 30 yard line. spencer ware in the back is blocking and the smith pass is complete to maclin. that's a gain of six yards, jon. >> jon: alex smith has a tall task ahead of himself. he got a new center, fulton.
i mean mitch morris was the center for 15 games. jah reid has been a right he's at right guard. stephenson is a backup and he's over at right tackle. against this texans defense, the offensive line of the chiefs must protect alex smith.
he's got to get it together quick. >> mike: it's been a hallmark of this unit this year, their interchange, their versatility. boy is that paying dividends now with all these moves because of the injury to the center and right guard.
spencer ware in the back blocks watt on second and four, time for find kelce in front of the rookie nickel, kevin johnson. and that double team on watt gave time for smith to complete it downfield. >> jon: what a great play by he saw quintin demps come down
on the line of scrimmage to cover his tight end kelce. he audibles, gets the protection he needs and makes a beautiful alex smith, he can beat you with his legs, he can beat you with his football mind. that's a beautiful route by kelce.
>> mike: kelce hurt houston in week one. he had two touchdowns in the first quarter. he's hurting them in the first half of the wild card game spencer ware, passes watt. tackled by kareem jackson. just a gain of a yard.
jon, on a team where the wide receiver spot was week, they brought in jeremy maclin and kelce's numbers have just improved and expanded this year. >> jon: runs a lot of different kind of routes from different formations. and he's excellent after the
catch. romeo crennel, the defensive coordinator of houston, has got to make something happen. >> mike: second and nine, charcandrick west, the running back, gets to the 32 yard line we'll call it, a gain of seven. >> jon: it's got to be killing
j.j. watt. they're not even blocking him, they're going to read him this time and use his aggressiveness against him. j.j. watt, what do you want me to do, take the quarterback or the back? very frustrating, that zone
read. you can ask any defensive lineman that plays this game for a living. third down and short. important down. >> mike: jet sweep, wilson. they were ready for it and the tackle is made by john simon
after the miss by johnathan joseph. simon cleaned it up. what a good player he is. third-year man out of the ohio state university. >> jon: you wonder where jadeveon clowney is. well, simon has taken his place
and outperformed him, if you ask me. that time it was just great second effort. simon came here from the ravens and has fit in nicely. here's santos. >> mike: made a 49. try another 49.
carbon copy. cairo santos showing no shakiness in his first playoff 13-0 kansas city. >> mike: if you watched "hard knocks" this year, you know they had a tough call at quarterback. they had brian hoyer, ryan mallett took over.
hoyer got the job back until he was concussed. yates was back and he tore his acl. brandon weeden got a win here and then hoyer was healthy enough after the two concussions to come back week 17 and lead the texans to the win over
jacksonville. jon, it has been a complete circus at the quarterback position for this houston team. as we said not just this year, but last year as well. >> jon: i don't know where bill o'brien goes. if hoyer doesn't pick it up,
it's not like he can turn to brandon weeden. weeden doesn't hardly know the offense, mike. if you throw in the fact he lost arian foster his feature back and his left tackle pro bowler duane brown, tough assignment for bill o'brien.
>> mike: down 13-0, special teams have been huge for kansas city. the kickoff return and the kicking game as well. it's given long fields for an offense that is struggling. here are the four drives, the three-and-out, the pick on third
they had the one drive going with the 11 place, but the left tackle was pushed into the quarterback, forced a fumble. picked up a first down on the last drive and then a punt. they have been mostly on their half of the field in this half. >> jon: this is the first time
i've seen kansas city go to their bench on defense. you see 98, nick williams, number 70, mike devito, have checked in to give kansas city some rest. >> mike: texans have 22 plays, only 46 yards. hoyer, hopkins.
did he get the second foot down? i don't think so. they're going to rule it a catch! the initial ruling is a catch. there is a flag down. the field judge has come in for his opinion. and they are going to rule it a
gain of 16 for a moment. the flag is on the opposite side of the field. >> jon: does he get his feet in? >> referee: before the pass, holding, defense, number 21. first down. >> mike: penalty there on smith. on the other side you saw that
crumb rubber come up with the toe drag. incredible job by hopkins to reel it in. it's like the only threat they have is deandre hopkins. >> mike: gain of 16. they'll feed the fullback, jay prosch.
only a half dozen carries for the year and a very short gain. jon, we're talking the quarterback story. how about when hopkins had to deal with those numbers and he had a 100-yard game with each one. four different quarterbacks.
>> jon: this is unbelievable. he comes to work every day. no maintenance, great player. get to know him. >> mike: alfred blue, found a crease. blue a first down, still going. blue 40, blue 30. working on peters.
spins inside to the 13 yard line! did they need that 50-yard run. wow! >> jon: down the stretch, this big back out of lsu has been a factor. it's going to be a stretch play right off the right side.
and you have some backup kansas city chiefs defenders in there. this is just good second effort running. parker misses a tackle and alfred blue, who had over 100 yards last week does a great job in the open field. >> mike: the wildcat here, jon,
and it's right to jonathan grimes working inside. houston pulls him back at the 5. that is a gain of eight. >> jon: bill o'brien, he's going to pull every stop out of that game plan. jump the ball, no huddle, wildcat formation, snap it to
jonathan grimes before anybody is set. just a simple stretch play again off the right side. keep an eye on hopkins. at the bottom of the screen. they love to isolate him in these red zone situations. >> mike: the rookie pro bowl
corner, marcus peters, out on the sideline. hoyer, hopkins incomplete. that's the play that they scored on in week one. they scored on peters. but that's on the oregon state rookie, steven nelson on kavrj. >> jon: you can see that here,
steven nelson gets it done and peters is back on the field. how about bob sutton the defensive coordinator. he doesn't care who plays corner, he's going to play man-to-man coverage against the best the other team has. >> mike: third and two.
inside run blue. has the first down to the 2 yard that was such a big play, that 49-yard run by blue. here comes j.j. watt on offense and vince wilfork is coming on to play offense for the texans. if they put j.j. watt in the wildcat and run it right behind
will fork. bill o'brien has to do something to get this crowd in the game. look out. >> mike: what about this, watt was a high school quarterback until his junior year. he's taken runs behind will fork and gets stopped, second effort.
he's going to lose two yards. you said it, jon, everything in the playbook. and they put vince wilfork out to block and j.j. watt as a wildcat quarterback and now hoyer is coming back in the game. >> jon: a wildcat direct snap
with vince wilfork leading the way for j.j. watt. and credit kansas city. they knew exactly where that ball was going. they stuff it. >> mike: this is a team that has struggled inside the 5 yard line all year, so that's why they go
to j.j. watt, who's never had a rushing attempt. we know his touchdowns, especially last year, but trying to find a way to figure it out inside the 5, they go to drastic measures here in the post the game has been stopped for a moment, consultation with the
officials. >> referee: first charged time-out kansas city. please set the game clock to 3:53, please. 3:53. this is a 30-second time-out. >> mike: ron parker was having a helmet issue and kansas city
takes a time-out here before second and goal. we know andy reid has gone to a different place in terms of calling plays. how about what bill o'brien is trying to manufacture over here on his side. >> jon: you just talked about
it, mike. you have the quarterback carousel. every week you've had a different quarterback. you lost your feature back. your all-time leading rusher, arian foster, your left tackle is out.
you really have one certified threat, deandre hopkins, you've got to use everybody on your roster to create offense. let's see what's next. >> mike: second and goal. they're going to take their tight ends and split them to the bottom of the screen,
fiedorowicz and griffin. griffin is in short motion. hoyer is scanning, underneath he threw a pick in the red zone to josh mauga. he's on his feet and brought down at the 20 yard line. hoyer, who doesn't see guys when it comes back to a 30 or fourth
option, with a massive mistake for the texans there. >> jon: and bill o'brien has nowhere to go. weeden just got here and dontari poe broke through there, put the pressure on hoyer, and he made a terrible decision under duress. >> mike: josh mauga the pick,
and the kansas city defense hangs in. a frustrating >> mike: brian hoyer throws his second interception. you can hear texans' fans. their team gets down to the 2, they get their first momentum. they bring in j.j. watt for the
trick play. that back fires. they come back and hoyer throws kansas city maintains its 13-point lead. watt from behind trying to knock it away and mercilus has his second sack of this first half. >> jon: watt with the pressure
and mercilus with the cleanup. j.j. watt beats fisher and smith steps right into the pressure of whitney mercilus. what a job mercilus has done feeding off of j.j. watt, the two of them. 29 1/2 sacks in the regular they need a turnover themselves.
>> mike: they're on the same side now. second and 14. and they'll run it inside to charcandrick west, who gains two yards to the 20 yard line, so it will be third and long coming up. >> jon: credit the texans'
they have been put in some horrible situations. remember, 13-0, mike. seven of that came on the opening kickoff on a kick return. this texans defense has done an excellent job. here they are, the number one
third down defense in all of can they set their offense up with some field position to end the half? >> mike: chris conley came in alex smith feeling the pressure, fires. it is on the sideline. wilson inbounds with the catch
at the 42 yard line. first down gain of 19. >> jon: here comes kansas city. they're going to try to run a play before they can replay it. good move by alex smith. >> mike: are they going to throw the challenge flag? they do.
finally seen by the official on the near side, the line judge. bill o'brien threw it right in front of them to kill the play. >> jon: that's a great job by bill o'brien. listening to somebody upstairs. >> referee: houston has challenged the ruling on the
field of a completed catch. we'll review the play. >> mike: great job by our guys getting the replay up there as well. what they saw. >> mike: coming up, toyota halftime. breakdown of the first half and
preview of game two on this afc wild card day. primetime game steelers and bengals. dean blandino, the vice president of officiating, working back in new york. if it's incomplete, it will be fourth down and 2:14 on the game
clock. here's ron. >> referee: after review, the ruling on the field is changed. the receiver did not get his left foot down after securing the ball. it's an incomplete pass. it will be kansas city's ball
fourth down at the 20 yard line. 2:14. the clock will start on the snap. houston is not charged with a >> mike: that means the texans if they challenge a second time and it's correct can earn a third challenge.
once he grabs, that foot was just in the air so it's only one foot down. now it's fourth down. as you were saying before that play, john, it was a big third down stop for the houston defense. >> jon: let's see if mumphery
can set up brian hoyer and this texans offense. >> mike: dustin colquitt to kick it away. good hang time. the kick is 41 and mumphery reels it in and the texans get it with 2:08 to go. just pull back a little bit and
think about what's happened in this game. kansas city has had so many opportunities. really four possessions where they could have gotten more points out of it. the long pass that was missed to wilson, just a step away from
him. the interception inside the 30 after the houston interception. two possessions where they got field goals. the texans are very fortunate to be just down 13. >> jon: they sure are. we knew yards were going to be
hard to come by. let's see if hoyer can get something on the board before the break. >> mike: officials get that kicking ball out of there and get a houston texans football. for the series for the seventh year man out of michigan state,
now we get a whistle from the sideline. >> jon: well, the chiefs defense has seen this formation for the last three minutes. spoken my a play caller. show them our formation for two minutes. >> mike: first down from the 40.
it will be run with jonathan he gets pulled down by justin houston who went off the field early with that knee, but came back and has been effective since. two-minute warning here in 13-0 kc. >> mike: seven for the chiefs in
the first quarter, six in the second quarter. there's a little asterisk because there are two games where they were blown out by 40 points at halftime, especially the one against miami, which is one of the turning points of this team's season.
so they were coming back in games where the margin was way out of whack but still this team has shown in tighter games the ability to come back offensively in the fourth quarter. let's watch how they close this first half. second and nine, hoyer shot
downfield nate washington. it's overthrown. it's intercepted. marcus peters turns this into a punt return. peters at the 30 accelerates, gets to midfield and he's brought down at the 47 yard line by the center, ben jones.
the shot for nate washington was well overthrown. and that's three picks in six possessions thrown by hoyer. >> jon: and they're bad all three interceptions are horrible. bad decisions. you're throwing against a pro
bowl left corner. and there's no way you throw this football, mike. know who you're throwing against, know the situation. and he fumbled the football. he's turned the ball over four times. >> referee: during the
interception return, illegal block in the back by the interception team, number 29. the penalty will be enforced from the spot of the foul. kansas city's ball, first down. >> mike: on that play you saw the bump deandre hopkins took. he was slow to get up.
now he's in conversation with george godsey. it's an interesting because hoyer did get pulled in that first game. bill o'brien said i was too quick to pull him because we went through preseason and otas and all that stuff and we
settled on hoyer as the quarterback over ryan mallett. in many ways that apology to the team, that willingness to be honest about a mistake helped galvanize this group. and they were the ones who could make mistakes even if their head coach did.
>> jon: this one is a different call on this win-or-go home >> mike: the run with charcandrick west, he gets five. time-out taken by houston with 1:37 to go, trying to get the ball back. peters who led the league in >> mike: bill o'brien's defense
trying to make another stand. second and five here. ware, it's a first down. spencer ware runs through a tackle and takes it out to the 32 yard line. he dump trucked quintin demps with that. 22 yards.
>> mike: kansas city is back over the ball and laurent duvernay-tardif who was being evaluated for concussion is out for the rest of the game. first down throw for albert wilson, who's pulled down out of bounds by brian cushing at the 44 yard line.
gain of a half dozen. >> jon: and andy reid being very careful with his play selection. manufacture enough offense. win the turnover battle and take a lead to the fourth quarter with this defense and get out of here with a win. i think that's a big part of
this game plan. they're not going to hold the ball very long and let j.j. watt and this texans pass rush get there. >> mike: second and four. if they get around the 40 they can think about a field goal attempt.
santos was close to making it from 60 pregame. spencer ware, two yards shy of the first down. they're going to let this clock run down to 1:16 and now houston will use >> mike: third down and one coming up.
as we said going to break, houston time-out was indicated, so houston out of time-outs. kansas city still has two. that gives the chiefs a chance to score before the break. they'll toss it to west and the defense comes up with the stop. john simon joining benard rick
mckinney. kansas city can run this down to 30 seconds. >> jon: another blown opportunity by andy reid's chiefs. a third and one at midfield and you had a chance to get more points.
once again, the texan defense continues to keep them in this kansas city, mike, has blown a lot of great field position and scoring opportunities. let's see if bill o'brien can get to the locker room at halftime and find a way to get something going on offense.
>> mike: so kansas city takes a time-out as to not take the delay of game, and it will set up a fourth down and one and likely the chiefs punt. so we mentioned pittsburgh and cincinnati play in the next game, the afc wild card game, part two today.
how this impacts next week. the winner of today's game will go to denver if the bengals win at home. if the steelers win tonight on the road against a.j. mccarron and cincinnati, then the winner of this game goes to new england.
lower remaining seed to the one seed. higher remaining seed goes to the two seed for the divisional playoffs next week. dustin colquitt, exceptional at pinning the opponents back inside the 10. late fair catch signal made by
mumphery and they're back inside the 10 again at the 8 yard line. 25 seconds to go. defense and special teams to win championships, that's why they're booing hoyer as he comes back on the field with an offense that has turned it over in four of six possessions.
three picks and a forced fumble, the two sacks. the opening 106-yard kickoff return by knile davis, which is the fastest score in any postseason game. and the two 49-yard field goals by santos. >> jon: listen to this crowd.
kansas city has taken the crowd out of the game and turned them against the texans. we'll see if matters change in the second half. >> mike: the chiefs have struggled to close games this remember their last playoff game they struggled to close.
houston gets the ball >>> all your work represents the hopes and dreams of a whole >> you always take pride and do whatever it takes to help us win. >> i want people to say win or lose, this guy gave it his all. >> we're going to give it all we
have until that last whistle blows. >> it's going to come down to the one that wants it the most, simple as that. >> 22 years ago, kansas city chiefs won their last playoff game in the astrodome, lost eight since.
trying to change it here in nrg stadium. 13 to the good. lisa salters talked to bill o'brien. we'll talk to lisa in a second about that. three interceptions, jon. as bad a first half as you can
have. brian hoyer in every aspect didn't bring it in this playoff >> jon: not good enough. late down the middle, eric berry for the easy pick. left tackle gets bull rushed by allen bailey, it's a fumble. chiefs get it back.
and then dontari poe whips a block, bad decision, and right before the half, three bad interceptions, a bad fumble. i'm sure bill o'brien went to hoyer at halftime, he's known him a long time back from his patriot days. collect yourself.
we can win this game. all we need to do is get a couple first downs, get you back in rhythm. because if we don't, i'm going to brandon weeden. >> mike: you saw the marino stat, two fumbles, two interceptions in jimmy johnson's
last game. santos with the kickoff and it will not be returned. lisa, what did bill o'brien tell you at halftime. >> lisa: remember bill o'brien told us this weekend if brian hoyer didn't play well and turned the ball over the texans
wouldn't have a shot. i asked him what he was going to say in the locker room and he said, hey, we have a shot. look up at the scoreboard. it's just 13-0. these fans, they can boo all they want. we've still got a heck of a
shot. mike. knocks" you know bill o'brien doesn't sugar coat anything. if you remember the sideline give and take with tom brady. but he has been with hoyer a long time, just trying to find some way to piece it together
against a terrific chiefs the half begins with alfred blue running to the right for a gain of four yards. jon, we can talk about all this pie in the sky. can they do this, can they do that. russell wilson was picked three
times in the first half of the championship game, came back to win last year. forget all that, they have got to do it against a really good defense in kansas city. >> jon: hoyer has to shake off the kansas city demons. they booed him and ran him out
of the lineup in week one. this is going to be the all-time display of mental toughness if hoyer can pull this out. >> mike: jonathan grimes is the running back. hoyer throwing quickly. the pass is incomplete with ryan griffin the intended target.
>> jon: that time sean smith read the quick game and almost intercepts this pass. take a look at smith, top right of the screen. he reads this all the way. they are very ball hawking oriented corners. they have 22 interceptions
coming in here -- make that 25. >> mike: you can hear our microphone on the sideline. go get that. here comes the pressure. a whole bunch of chiefs are it's grimes, open field, first down. derrick johnson, marcus peters
couldn't make the stop. the texans get a first down. >> jon: that's a nice play by here comes the blitz off the right side. he's got to find his hot receiver, it's jonathan grimes. nice work by grimes. he's their third down back and
he has really been effective down the stretch for houston. >> mike: alfred blue up the middle for three yards. you played in games where your quarterback stinks it up in a half. that has to be a fine line. do you scream and yell or put
your arm around him and encourage the guy, just give me a little bit of something that i've seen on the practice field. >> jon: i used to go in and say, hey, that's my fault, those are bad plays and i'm sure that's what bill o'brien said. you've got to build back his
confidence. i'm sure o'brien took it on himself. >> mike: blue, to the 40 yard you remember our meeting we had, jon, before we saw these guys in a monday nighter against cincinnati. they were struggling.
they came off the bye week, got a win before the bye against tennessee. and you know what o'brien told us? you know what we've got to get back to? running the ball. we've got to give our
quarterbacks more of a chance and maybe that's where they can find some success in this game by getting back to a run and setting up third and short. >> jon: the problem is that's what kansas city does well on defense is stuff the run. >> mike: oh.
hoyer had to take a time-out. the look there didn't fit and houston takes the first of their three time-outs. so what happens with the quarterback situation? you think about this houston franchise. they had david carr early on in
their franchise history and then matt schaub. they had success, remember they made the playoffs a couple of times. t.j. yates. they have been searching the last couple of years for a quarterback.
they're going to be in the market for a quarterback obviously next year. but they had a chance to take derek carr in the second round and didn't and some people thought they were going to in last year's draft. instead they acquired hoyer and
mallett. let them battle for the job in camp. hoyer won that. third and two. and complete, forward progress should give washington the first down and they will. the head linesman marks it
>> jon: but you know brian hoyer goes back to the new england days with bill o'brien where he was the offensive coordinator. he was tom brady's backup for three years. now things are different, though. the head coach is bill o'brien
and the starting quarterback is brian hoyer and they're both handling different kinds of pressure. this is playoff pressure. and so far hoyer hasn't done very well, obviously. >> mike: brian said he received a text of congratulations from
tom brady. good to see him next week. hoyer protected for the moment. houston gets knocked away and he almost threw his fourth he was looking for griffin. he had no idea sean smith was sitting over there and they're lucky to get to second down.
>> jon: it's a play action pass. he comes out with excellent protection and he misses this -- he never saw sean smith. you said it. very lucky that ball was not intercepted. what do you call if you're bill o'brien?
>> mike: have you ever been there, look at your play sheet and you don't know what to call? >> jon: have been there most of my career, mike. i remember those days well. >> mike: second and ten. blue with patience there, and blue gets the first down into
chiefs territory at the 45 yard it's a gain of 17. >> jon: there's chris clark, backup left tackle. he's going to pull to the point of attack and escort alfred blue off tackle for a huge first it hasn't been pretty but that's three first downs out of the
locker room and here comes the >> mike: blue again. that time there's no place to go. kansas city's defense, tyvon branch makes the stop. you talk about the playoffs and teams getting there and their stars.
how cool for tyvon branch. seven years with oakland. played college ball at the university of connecticut. he's played 91 games and finally gets to make his playoff debut. the most games played without a postseason game for anybody on both sides of the field tonight.
>> jon: justin houston again at the top of the screen. dangerous pass rusher. keep an eye on him. >> mike: at the 44, hoyer fires, through the hands of cecil he eventually caught it a second time but was out of bounds. third down coming up.
>> jon: you see george godsey, the offensive coordinator, trying to find the protection, trying to find the play that brian hoyer can execute to put houston back in business. criticalghã¡ that they have succ coming out of the locker room. they have had three first downs
so far. here they are in a no back set. >> mike: third and ten. quickly in the hands of hopkins. he's going to try to make a the chiefs know where they are going and shut him down. six yards shy of the a first down with eric berry, who had
the interception earlier, and the boos continue to rain down. >> jon: coming out of a no-back set kansas city blitzes them and force hoyer into a quick audible and guess who makes the tackle? eric berry. i get choked up watching this guy.
what he's come back from is amazing to me. and kansas city has fed off his >> mike: shane lechler used to be poor and pinning the opponents inside but has gotten so much better. he learned from darren bennett out in san diego the way to get
that spin on the ball and give a long field on a long day for the brought to you by fidelity investments. burger king. get five delicious items for an unbelievable price. only at burger king. ice cube, kevin hart, "training
day is over." and volkswagen. 71,000 inside of nrg stadium. you look at them and the 95 yards the chiefs have to go from spider cam. our coverage today brought to you by directv. alex smith trying to get going.
whitney mercilus moved to right tackle, jumped, to try to get him caught in the neutral zone. >> referee: neutral zone infraction, defense, number 59. >> mike: donald stephenson gets his team five yards. >> jon: i bet andy reid told them at halftime, let's put
these guys away. two years ago they had a big lead coming out of the locker room against the colts and couldn't hang on. you know andy reid has made that point perfectly clear. >> mike: they were up 38-10. lost 45-44 at the end of the
2013 season, january of 2014 look out, watt. smith gets away and the speed of alex smith bails him out and gets him a big gain down the look at smith still going. there's a flag down back behind the play has mckinney chases him down all the way inside the 30
yard line. we've got a flag down back at the chiefs 25. >> jon: it's going to be holding >> referee: holding, offense, number 12. ten yards from the spot of the foul. replay first down.
>> mike: albert wilson's flag erases what would have been a 64-yard gain. >> jon: j.j. watt almost has the sack. you see wilson, number 12, sees his quarterback in trouble. he grabs the rookie corner, johnson.
and alex smith needs to catch his breath. >> mike: the good news is you've got a quarterback who can go 64. the bad news is he's got to come back and call one of those plays in the huddle. so because of that earlier penalty and the spot foul, a
very rare first and four for to spencer ware. john simon waiting, gain of a half yard. j.j. watt, who rarely comes off the field, is limping after that play. >> jon: well, he had that groin problem.
he did not practice when we were there thursday, mike. let's see what happened to watt, working against 75, jah reid, on an inside move. hard to determine. >> mike: you're right, he's been dealing with a groin injury throughout.
we mentioned the left hand that was broken that he had to play through all wrapped up the last three games. got that off last week. had three sacks. second and three for smith and out of the backfield it is west for the first down.
charcandrick west to the 23 yard >> jon: look what andy reid's chiefs did to j.j. watt in the they neutralized him. quick pass sets. they tried to take his legs out. then run a jet sweep right at him and don't even block him. that's frustrating.
then maclin nudges him to help his right tackle. then they chip him out of the backfield. they have taken j.j. watt out of the game and now their nickel corner, number 30, kevin johnson, injured. >> mike: watt is trying to get
loose. they're looking at kevin johnson on the field a >> mike: pretty good defense in that picture there, mike vrabel and romeo crennel. they don't like having j.j. watt on the sideline. he's been stretching that groin
that has been bothering him. we'll check if he goes back in. kevin johnson, the injured player being looked at by the athletic training staff. a.j.bouye will be the nickel. from the 22, it's smith, flushed. on the run he rolls and throws,
jeremy maclin. gain of 15 yards to the 38 yard >> jon: great call by andy reid. watt is out of the game. brandon dunn on the right side of your screen, number 92, replaces watt. i'd throw it again while j.j. wallet is on the sideline.
take a look at maclin, number 19. what an addition he has been. great zone awareness. he and the quarterback, alex smith, seem to like each other. >> mike: officially a gain of 16. that was the second catch for
maclin. watt remains on the sideline. at the 38, back up top, travis kelce incomplete. it was covered by the safety, quintin demps. what do you like about alex smith, former number one overall pick who's had a good roll in
these three years in kc. >> jon: he's a winner, number he's athletic, you just saw him scramble. he's got good arm strength and accuracy and he's audibled a couple of times today. he's very sharp mentally. 48 wins, 21 losses in his last
50 outings with one tie. he knows how to win football games and it doesn't have to be pretty. he's got to finish. >> mike: j.j. watt returns to the texans defense to try to stop alex smith. and alex smith and the chiefs
take a time-out. each offense has used one halfway through this third the chiefs only have eight first downs since that opening kickoff re >> mike: super bowl xxxix these guys matched play-calling wits, andy reid against romeo crennel.
of course romeo coached the chiefs after todd haley was let go and for one full season and now they match wits again. 65 combined playoff games for those two men calling plays when the chiefs have the ball. after the kansas city time-out, second and ten for alex smith.
spread with four wide. and watt took a false step and went down in a lot of pain. that pass is caught and it's maclin, three shy of the first down, but j.j. watt is down on all fours. he tried to put his foot in the ground and put some pressure on
the pass rush, and a guy who plays 96% of the snaps can't play through the pain here. >> jon: left tackle eric fisher one-on-one pass protection and you see the groin give way on let's hope this isn't serious. >> mike: we also have a chiefs player hurt on the far side at
the 45 yard line as well. the foot sticks there and turns, that ankle as well. he comes limping off. >> jon: can't make out who that is, mike, for the chiefs. >> mike: you see jeremy maclin, i believe, over there. so two key players.
they look at maclin's knee. doing a test on his right knee as well. what a loss that would be for kansas city's playoff hopes as andy reid right over there too. so two of the best players in this >> mike: jeremy maclin is very
emotional as he came off. he got twisted in the pile. you could just see it in his eyes and his face as they did the initial diagnosis on his knee. they'll probably take him over to the bench and look, but it doesn't look good and the
reaction just eat your heart out, awful. watt out of the game as well. training staff looking at him. it's third and three and smith throws underneath the crosser, kelce, the tight end. he'll get the first down into houston territory.
we were watching the watt play and here's what happened with maclin as his knee gets tied up in there. and as you watch it, it didn't look like it was one of those plays where there was going to be significant torque or twist to that knee area, but you just
never know when you have so much weight being pushed on there. you see the team doctor consoling maclin, who has torn that right acl before, back in his philadelphia days. 13-0 chiefs lead. this is a run for spencer ware. inside the 30 to the 28 yard
line with 6:30 to go as the chiefs are trying to throw a knockout punch on this opening third quarter. >> jon: kelce is doing it all as a runner and receiver. that time he came across the formation and threw a critical block to spring ware.
and in maclin's absence, it will be kelce to step up, just as he did last year. >> mike: he becomes their main threat. remember last year they had no touchdowns to wide receivers. they posted that position this kelce on the bubble with simon
and joseph over there with the a super late flag in thrown by three different officials, so whatever happened -- >> reporter: brandon dunn with a late punch. did they catch him or zach frustration. >> mike: dunn, 92, the
first-year man out of louisville. >> referee: after the play was over, personal foul, unnecessary roughness, defense, number 92. half the distance to the goal. automatic first down. >> mike: there's a guy who wouldn't even be on the field if
not for the j.j. watt injury. he gets out there and commits a key penalty. >> jon: that's why he's a backup, mike. that's a terrible penalty late. he turns and looks up. donald stephenson goes to the face and fulton, number 73, is
lucky he doesn't get called here. >> mike: one thing they have tried to do, don't call offsetting. try to call the first one if you clearly see it, and three officials saw it and threw it on dunn who played only 96 snaps
all year. >> jon: and off the field he comes. >> mike: 96 of 986 snaps this just under 10% of the action. in the red zone, spencer ware with the run for kansas city. he's inside the 10. jared crick and vince wilfork.
crick got the helmet knocked off and mouthpiece out. perhaps some of the chippiness is involved at the end of the j.j. watt play. there was so much going on when watt was down injured and on the far side maclin had his injury being looked at.
eric fisher, i don't think he had any idea that watt was hurt and he came and tried to get j.j. watt with an extra shot. they showed this on the big board during the injury break. and they booed that a lot, especially that shot over by the head.
you don't know slow mo what's going on. he doesn't know watt was hurt but the houston fans were very unhappy and maybe that's -- smith end zone, hauled in by conley for the touchdown! chris conley! the first offensive touchdown of
the day by kansas city. >> jon: jeremy maclin goes down, it's a beautiful play action pass. i thought smith gave the ball to ware off the right side. they're going to eliminate the underneath coverage with the play action pass and alex smith
throws a rope and conley went to the combine this year and blew every test off the chart. the man can run. he has leaping ability. when you come in and replace a man like jeremy maclin in the playoffs in a critical situation and deliver, that's big-time.
>> mike: replay confirmed the two feet were down for the rookie who scored one touchdown in the regular season. they moved up in the third round to get the s.e.c. scholar athlete out of georgia. and with maclin injured, you need somebody to step into that
role. conley, the big-bodied receiver, does just that. extra point, cairo santos, and the kansas city chiefs take their opening third quarter drive down the field 94 y >> mike: 22 years ago, next door from nrg stadium at the
astrodome, the last time the chiefs won a playoff. joe montana was their the oilers beat the chiefs bad, 30-0 in week two. a good second-half comeback led by montana. derek thomas with a big impact in that game.
marcus allen, montana and the chiefs beat the houston oilers 22 years ago to get to the afc championship game. they lost to buffalo and that started this streak, eight consecutive postseason losses. tying detroit for the nfl record of the most consecutive
postseason setbacks but they're on their way to changing that two-thirds of the way through on top 20-0. everyone in kansas city is thinking about jeremy maclin and hoping that injury is not severe. and that he might be around for
the rest of this run for andy reid's team. >> jon: only one thing for bill o'brien to do, mike. you've got to get into an up-tempo offense and find a way to get the ball to deandre he appears to be the only game-changer out there for
they have got to pick up the pace and get the ball to hopkins somehow, some way. bill o'brien knows that. >> mike: that was a 94-yard drive on this good houston exactly what kansas city needed to start the half. hoyer, nate washington dropped.
washington is usually such a good hands catcher. couldn't reel that in. jon, you talked about going to look at the difference going to hopkins and everywhere else. >> jon: nate washington drops the football. washington came in with a bad
hip, wasn't sure if he was going to play. the tight ends are not a part of this pass offense. you've got to get the ball to hopkins somehow some way and let him impact the game. they try to get it to hopkins. that one is low and incomplete.
zero confidence in anybody on that houston offense. the fans just cheered as j.j. watt came back out from the locker room. >> jon: -- >> lisa: yeah, he jogged back out on the field. the texans had been telling me
that his return was questionable. we saw him come out of the game a couple of times. they wanted to get him back in the locker room sooner. he wouldn't go. this time he went back, came jogging back out on the field.
it appears as if he's preparing to come back in the game. >> mike: he's an incredible player. hoyer, nothing open, chased by fires in the middle and it's broken up. husain abdullah who spent the last five games with a
concussion, that's a big return to the kansas city lineup for the postseason. >> jon: well, justin houston spying on hoyer. he sees hoyer break contain and houston almost gets hoyer for the sack, but he forces the timing to break down and there's
abdullah. >> mike: another drive without a first down for houston. this punt by lechler 48 yards and here comes frankie hammond jr. flags are down all over the place. hammond is across midfield,
shoved out of bounds by blue at the 48. flags back here at the chiefs only 36 yard line. >> jon: that will be knile davis, number 34, on a block in this is coming back. >> referee: during the return, illegal block in the back by the
return team, number 34. ten-yards from the spot of the kansas city's ball, first down. >> mike: penalty on knile davis. >> jon: this one is easy to see. he gets chris polk with a block in the back, push in the back. j.j. watt talking to shane lechler, the punter.
he's like, hey, we need you to get back out there and change they tried j.j. watt on offense he's carried the ball. he's battling a bad groin injury and right now andy reid and this kansas city chiefs offense wants to run the ball, possess the rock, and get to the second
round. >> mike: the ball is being spotted at the 29 yard line. a couple of things here we should point out. there are three alternate officials. they also aid in the inner workings of the game during the
postseason helping out the officials on the field. also this is the first game with the new procedures put in place by the competition committee. president of officiating in new york can help with some oversight on procedural items that are going wrong and make
sure that the mistake does not happen. spencer ware with the carry to the 35 yard line. that's a gain of six. as they're trying to clean up everything going on off the so dean blandino back at 345 park avenue has a camera live on
the field all the time. he can see the ball mismarked and he can speak directly to the referee in these playoff games, ron torbert to spot the ball, penalty yardage or if the clock is running improperly like we had on a monday night in san diego.
he can't help them out on a judgment call or help change a judgment call. just a way to put one more level in there as a fail-safe, a lifeline if you will. smith flushed. chased by dunn. worked the sidelines beautifully
and that's what you're talking about with those three as and the athleticism of alex. >> jon: you saw the accurate pass on the touchdown. and brandon dunn trying to replace j.j. watt on the left side of your screen, number 92. and alex smith runs away from
him and here's some fancy footwork. they get the first down. alex smith came in here, mike, with 498 yards rushing and most of it is on scramble plays just like that. he had a 60-yarder called back earlier.
>> mike: spencer ware, zone read and a play you love, jon. john simon on the tackle. >> jon: i really like simon. he's seen this scheme enough, that time kelce comes across the formation to try to cut off simon, and simon almost intercepts this handoff.
he gets me once, but you're not going to get me twice. simon is a good player, physical football player that can play a lot of different positions for romeo crennel. >> mike: approaching two minutes, third quarter, and all houston rushes four.
alex smith wobbler in the middle. kelce able to secure it. eludes a tackle and kelce is on the run. they get him at the 13 yard line, a 47-yard gain. >> jon: you wonder why kelce is in the pro bowl.
it's plays like this. alex smith throws a ball that's down low and kelce has to go get it, but it's the yardage he makes after the catch. and that wasn't a very good effort by johnathan joseph. i'm sure joseph saw the big man, kelce, coming.
but he has to make that tackle. and once again, kansas city knocking on the door. >> mike: officially a gain of 48 takes kelce to 128. you see all those yards after the catch. most tight ends are doing that charcandrick west inside the 10
to the 8 yard line. >> jon: i don't know how kansas city is doing this. maclin is not playing, the offensive line is totally reshuffled. andy reid just called a trap and jah reid comes into right guard. we have a backup center, a
backup right tackle. i don't know who west is, number 35. these backs are so obscure. jamaal charles goes down, mike, and there have been so many kansas city chiefs step up in this ten-game winning streak, it's amazing to me.
>> mike: they are without maclin for the rest of the game obviously with that knee injury. the chiefs team that has run for 112 yards. ware tried to add to it. he's going to be stopped for a gain of one yard. that last hit on the pile by 93,
who pushed the left tackle, eric fisher. roughness, defense, number 93. >> mike: let's go down to lisa salters. >> lisa: well, brandon weeden is over here warming up on the texans' sideline. brian hoyer was sitting on the
bench and i just saw bill o'brien come over to him, get down on the knee. couldn't hear what they were saying, but there's a possibility brandon weeden might be coming in this game. >> mike: there's no hope at this point, down 20-0.
ten completions for only 76 yards, three interceptions. and we may see weeden. it might be too late. fake the jet sweep, give to ware and behind the line of scrimmage, again, the combination of simon and mckinney will end this third
>> jon: mckinney and simon didn't bite on that jet sweep but they're going to see the clock expire here. kansas city knows the only enemy is the clock. >> mike: up 20-0 after three in >> mike: kansas city up 20-0. whoever wins will watch with
great interest tonight. if the bengals win, then tonight's winner will be denver bound. if the steelers win, then tonight's winner will be going to foxborough next saturday. kansas city up 20-0 trying to punch this in.
chiefs fan, the euphoria of a victory would be tempered a bit if that jeremy maclin injury is as bad as it looked. they said knee injury, out for the game. obviously we won't hear any more until afterwards. but it's a chiefs team that
really came out strong in this second half. a 94-yard drive. longest in kansas city playoff history to get the touchdown in the third. this is a drive that started back at the 11 and ends with a touchdown by spencer ware!
>> jon: spencer ware, as andy reid said to us, is pretty tough. crick, n6ã· q) 93, can't make this tackle. you'll see crick on the back side loop over the top, and what impressive domination by kansas city here in the second
i'm sure andy reid told his team don't forget what happened two years ago against the colts. let's put houston away, and they have done just that in all three phases. >> mike: a five-yard touchdown run by ware. the key play, the 48-yarder from
smith to kelce. many key plays this afternoon. santos has had a great kicking day as well. all chiefs, 27-0, four seconds into quarter four. well, the walter payton nfl man of the year award presented by nationwide will be handed out
super bowl weekend, the night before the nfl honors. j.j. watt is a nominee for the texans, his great foundation. eric berry, not just a cancer survivor but the eric berry foundation trying to revitalize his hometown. the young men and girls of
fairburn, georgia, are being helped by the leadership of an inspiring story with eric berry. with j.j. watt, we've talked about it when we've done their games before, a low moment here, but he has given so many enthusiasm and encouragement, so many wristbands have been passed
out to kids not just here in houston and wisconsin but all over the country. dbwh, dream big, work hard. trying to inspire and change lives. those two men join the other 30 nominees of the nfl. walter payton nfl man of the
year will be handed out right before the super bowl in the nfl honors. no return here and let's check in with lisa. >> lisa: mike, perhaps there is no more inspiring of a guy on the field than eric berry, diagnosed by hodgkin's lymphoma
last december. he was just beginning a six-month round of intense chemotherapy at this time last he had his last treatment in may, was cleared to return to football in time for training camp in july. most people need three to six
months to be able to get back to a normal job after that kind of chemotherapy. berry continued to work out during his treatment, despite the nausea, the vomiting, fatigue, all because he wanted to be right where he is right now, on the football field,
cancer-free. berry's lead physician said berry's return to football was a long shot at best in his mind but him being selected to his fourth pro bowl this season, dr. flowers said that is just unheard of. >> mike: and all pro yesterday.
best of the best in the nfl. what an inspiring story. hoyer remains the quarterback. the 20 to griffin the tight end. it's incomplete, jon. >> jon: go back to eric berry, just think of all the people that he's given hope to. you know, he didn't just beat
cancer. i mean he came back better than ever. this guy is playing faster than i've seen him play. and the speed he's playing with, it allows him to make a lot of plays most safeties can't make and it also allows him to
prevent big plays. what a great story he is. >> mike: second and ten, hoyer, griffin the tight end with the grab. out of bounds 35. gain of 15. defensive coordinator for the chiefs, what a great man, bob
sutton. was once the coach at army. he told us yesterday eric berry is on a mission. he has inspired the rest of the so 1-5 for these guys didn't feel all that bad. they know what he went through, what mike devito and derrick
johnson went through. they tore their achilles in the very first game of last year, 2014. inspiring comebacks. there's johnson along with husain abdullah tackling jonathan grimes. >> jon: and justin houston back
on the field also after a five-week layoff, mike. this is a great opportunity for him to get some rushes in. he has been inactive. this is a great chance to work on his get-off and play making. >> mike: grimes tackled by abdullah.
there's the fan part saying get him out of there if you're up 27-0. here he comes limping off the field. >> jon: get his conditioning back to where it needs to be. this man is one of the premiere pass rushers in all of football.
he's going to have to fight through it. he's not going to be 100% the rest of the year. but there's a young man that has really turned a corner in his own right to become great. >> mike: third and three. you see the chiefs showing one
thing, rotating their coverage, as hoyer has no place to go. he comes back to griffin who will get the first down just shy of midfield in the arms of sean they'll move the chains. >> jon: one thing kansas city doesn't do is play a lot of two deep, five under zone coverage.
but in this situation with a 27-point lead you're going to see bob sutton be very careful with his calls, i do believe. >> mike: hoyer will take a shot towards hopkins. smith underneath. hopkins trying to get his feet back down inbounds with a flag
no ruling if catch or not. i think it's going to be offensive pass interference. >> jon: just as i said that, bob sutton blitzes. offense number 10. ten-yard penalty. replay first down. >> jon: when you have corners,
you can call whatever you want. peters leads the league in let's see hopkins, if he pushes off. that's awful close. when you extend your arms as an offensive player, officials are going to call that. you've got to keep your arms
tucked and inside. any time you extend them, you're going to get called. >> mike: they targeted him 190 he got the ball thrown his way a dozen times a game and he caught 111 of them. first and 20. that's caught on the sideline.
jaelen strong inbounds with a three shy of the first down for the rookie out of arizona state who's trying to get that right shoe back on. >> jon: every time you throw the ball at peters, you hold your breath. watch peters, number 22, try to
undercut this and go for the the location had to be perfect that time. >> mike: peters tied for the league lead in interceptions with reggie nelson. hoyer on time to hopkins for the first time at the 27 yard line. >> jon: no pass rush, you have
to credit houston. they have protected at least on this drive. >> mike: you're right. we thought it would be more of an impact with the changes on the offensive front. two sacks for kansas city. after back-to-back gains of 17,
a gain of three yards for jonathan grimes. >> jon: when you watch kansas city on defense, mike, they come from every place. they have seven different chiefs that have four or more sacks. you see allen bailey checking back in.
he's a good inside pass rusher. derrick johnson, number 56, their inside linebacker, he's got four sacks. and they bring ron parker, their nickel corner, number 38, he's got five sacks. so you've got to deal with a lot of people coming at your
>> mike: second and seven. hoyer, middle, off the hands of broken up by abdullah and incomplete. >> jon: you've got to catch that bill o'brien comes from new england where the tight ends were a huge part of his pass offense.
and they just haven't been able to get these tight ends involved at all. fiedorowicz, graham, griffin, you name the tight end. they just haven't delivered this you've got to catch it. >> mike: for an offense that loves to have an involved tight
end, this is the second lowest productive tight end group in terms of receptions and yards third and seven. hoyer has got time, hopkins, jump ball. couldn't get up there with had him locked down there and we'll see what they do here in a
go situation on fourth down. >> jon: sean smith, the ex-miami dolphin. what an acquisition he has been. he fits this bob sutton defense beautifully. and if you know anything about the chiefs, you don't know who their secondary coach is, do
you, mike? >> mike: a guy who's been around a little bit, emmitt thomas. >> jon: emmitt thomas, hall of fame corner. was he a big, physical kansas city chief. this young secondary, they feed off of his knowledge and
enthusiasm. >> mike: fourth and seven. hoyer had it stripped or lost it again. picked it up and he's tackled at the 30 yard line. allen bailey, who pushed the pocket back earlier to force a fumble by hoyer, involved there
as the chiefs take over on downs. >> jon: five turnovers, bailey ruined houston's opening game and he's going to ruin their final game of the season as >> mike: kansas city defense pitching a shutout. allen bailey's long arm of the
law getting in there. >> mike: the nfl wild card brought to you by the capital one quick silver card. nfl shop.com, gear up for the playoffs at the official store of the nfl. drive around in your western hat.
gary kohn and his family has been making it for 100 years, including for president bush 41. president bush, shaquille o'neal. i was going to get you one. >> jon: i love merle haggard. did you ever hear that song "rainbow stew."
>> mike: while we were in break, j.j. watt left the field, 27-0, ten minutes left. watt has not come back on the field to play since being injured on that long opening drive in the third quarter, that 94-yard drive that really took houston out of any very slim
hopes to come back here. zone read keep by the quarterback and alex smith slides down. he doesn't need a hit. two yards shy of a first down. >> jon: well, we said alex smith is a member of the aaa club. you've got to be able to
audible. he sees quintin demps, he audibles, changes the play and travis kelce wins on a deep cross, well done. then the athleticism. his scrambling is a real problem for defenses, and he has arm talent, mike, as displayed on
the touchdown to conley. third down and two, can he finish. he's going to keep here. >> mike: i would be limiting my hits on alex smith at this point. it's 27-0. we know he can do this.
let's bag the zone read for a little bit if you're kansas jon, what a story for him. it looks like he'll get a second playoff win of his career. he surprised some folks. not cam newton, not tyrod taylor, not russell wilson, but 498 quarterback rushing yards in
2015. >> jon: and he's 31 years old too. what an athlete he is. when you evaluate quarterbacks, you can evaluate a lot of things. i start with did they win, and that's what alex smith continues
to do. i wonder what the 49ers are thinking, mike? you know, they're in a situation now they don't know where they're going at head coach. their offensive philosophy with gabbert and kaepernick. alex smith had the 49ers on the
brink of a super bowl, and i believe they were undefeated when he got hurt and he was traded here to kansas city. he's turned the chiefs around. they were 2-14 the year before he got here, mike. this man knows how to win football games.
he checks his ego at the door, he's a preparation freak and he's a great athlete. >> mike: eight minutes to go. this is the fullback, anthony sherman, out of the backfield. jon, you talked about that experience in san francisco for what a journey it was.
eight years the number one overall pick, seven offensive coordinators. a lot of hello, my name is tags in the meeting rooms with alex but he did get to the 2007 afc title game, they lost to the giants in overtime and lost that starting job.
colin kaepernick replaced him after he suffered a concussion. you can't complain about what happened. kaepernick did get them to the the harbaugh brothers against each other in new orleans. san francisco lost at the very ending of that game.
that's what gave the opportunity to move smith. and what a place and the right coach he's found as well. on third and four he's going to take a sack as he's thrown down by whitney mercilus. he made the decision not to throw the covered spencer ware
out of the backfield. it will be fourth down. >> jon: that's a one-man screen. he saw the texans read it. he ate the football and will continue to use the clock. >> mike: isn't that a part of -- that play right there. jim harbaugh is beating his
head, no interceptions, no he's so good about taking care of the ball. that play, if it was an interception, is bad. this play is a heck of a lot better than that one. >> jon: when you're up 27-0 it's the only play and that's what
alex smith has done a great job of, his decision-making. >> mike: that will go down as a sack for whitney mercilus. that's his third of the game. rocket hit by colquitt and the sideline too. that's a professional punt. >> jon: field position.
>> mike: wow. >> jon: colquitt, this defense and alex smith are the winning edge for the chiefs. >> mike: eric stonestreet in front of clark hunt, the owner of the kansas city chiefs. his dad, lamar hunt, the hall of famer, passed away nine years
ago. on the right, the founder and chairman of the ceo of the texans, bob mcnair, who brought football back here in 2002 after that five-year absence when the oilers left for tennessee. interception and fifth turnover of the game in the hands of sean
smith and he'll go down at the 21 yard line. that's the story of the day. minus four in the turnovers for the texans -- or plus four if you look at it from the chiefs' perspective. as hoyer has been intercepted for the fourth time in this wild
card game. >> jon: well, he's wide open, the ball is just terribly thrown and sean smith has the easy kansas city's defense has been outstanding and brian hoyer has really struggled from the get-go. >> mike: five turnovers for
hoyer today. >> mike: monday night the national championship, alabama and clemson. coverage on all the networks, all different platforms. todd blackledge will join you on espn radio as nick saban tries to win number five and get
within one of the bear. trying to win a fourth. the clemson tigers will have something to say about that. look forward to the national title game. chris fowler, kirk herbstreit will have it for you on espn monday night.
spencer ware, a couple of yards. >> jon: so, mike, to put this in perspective, kansas city was 1-5 and in nfl history, i don't know if anybody has gone 1-5 and reeled off 11 straight wins. they lost jamaal charles, they played five weeks without justin they're going to have to play
without jeremy maclin potentially. there's sean smith, he missed the first four games. and kansas city has overcome it all. incredible fashion. >> mike: knile davis gets a turn.
gain of a yard there. they win the ten straight at the end of the regular season. no team had ever gone 1-5 and won 11 games. you'll had a 11th consecutive win in the postseason and that win without a win in the postseason to stop that skid at
these guys weren't around but they know about it and feel that pressure and really feel the game from two years ago against indianapolis. they will take the confidence of a terrific defense either to denver or to foxborough next third and seven, caught by
frankie hammond who's tackled at the 15 yard line and we'll get another cairo santos field goal attempt. >> jon: i remember coaching in tampa and they said you never won a game below 40 degrees. you've never won a game when it's cold.
our players got tired of hearing about that and we finally got that done. even though you're not a part of those previous games, you want to get rid of these negative streaks. i'm sure andy reid feels good what a job he's done wherever
he's been. i think his offensive coordinator, mike, perhaps could be one of the up and coming head coaches, doug pederson. >> mike: santos has made a pair from 49. a very ugly add from 33 for a third field goal.
but it still looks good on the board. 30-0 kansa >> mike: bracketing our coverage here, we'll have the gnc "sportscenter" after the game. steve young, trent dilfer, ray lewis here. we'll set the table for the
cincinnati-pittsburgh second afc wild card game today. of course tomorrow you will have minnesota and seattle in the cold on nbc and fox will have the late game with green bay at jay gruden's washington redskins. our group is a family as we
travel on the road and one of our leaders for many years going back to the start of the nfl on espn, mike chason. he is announcing his retirement and had an emotional moment in our camera meeting with all of our group before the game. setting up the show, leader of
the group, godfather of everyone on our crew. four decades the nfl on espn. that man has been a part of it. we salute you, friend, and thank you for everything. job well done. next time monday night football is on, feet up, hope you're
watching with a cold one, enjoy great work for the people who you gave a lot of leadership to a lot of years. >> jon: no doubt. talk about a highly motivated hard-working man. he's a grinder. >> mike: thank you, mike.
our entire crew as well, all season long. you see the chiefs leading the fans who are here doing the tomahawk chop. it is a takeover of nrg stadium by the chiefs fans who made the 750-mile journey. hoyer fires, almost intercepted
for a fifth time. it's broken up by steven nelson, the corner. >> jon: there is nothing on any of these throws. hoyer, who's had concussion problems this year not throwing the ball well. that one fluttered out there and
should have been intercepted. miserable way to end the season. story book opportunity for hoyer to take a team to the playoffs after his well journeyed career, and it ends in silent fashion tonight. >> mike: far side, incomplete. intended for jaelen strong.
the last shutout in the playoffs was ten years and a day ago. the '05 playoffs. carolina shut out the giants 23-0. we've had 107 games since since the shutout. you were part of the shutout back in the day.
>> jon: i was? did i get shut out? >> mike: no, you didn't. >> jon: you have a lot of memories tonight, mike. >> mike: i thought you'd remember that. you said you never forget these playoff games.
a guy kicked for you -- lechler 41-yarder returned by hammond at midfield. 3:10 remaining. >> jon: i've got a statistic for you, mike. >> mike: all right, love it. >> jon: one that's going to come into play perhaps tonight and in
the cold weather tomorrow in minneapolis. in the playoffs, i think i've seen 370 consecutive extra points made. 370 extra points in a row have been made. but in cold weather with the ball moved back, the extra point
changed. the rule change this year could come into play. how about that? >> mike: very good stat man. seven years ago you didn't like stats and now you've got a pileful. >> jon: i'm going to miss you.
we had a lot of fun. >> mike: great season. our awesome monday night football crew. it's been our honor and pleasure. we had the closest season of games in monday night football history.
one-sided affair here in this wild card game. still a joy to be with our group the last 20 plus weeks and we've got one more. we'll say aloha to you from the pro bowl in a few weeks as alex smith's day is done and chase daniel is in at quarterback.
seventh year man out of missouri. >> mike: and knile davis just ran the ball off the right side. that's a big name in this game. davis got the party started in kansas city with 106-yard return and they have not looked back. >> mike: by the way, while we're
handing out accolades to our crew and stats as well, as davis carries, the sports bureau is the best ever doing stats. that kickoff return by knile davis which started the playoffs, first play of the playoffs, is the first time the nfl playoffs have ever started
with a kickoff return for a touchdown. 80-plus years they have been playing postseason games. >> jon: we've got to take a break and come up with more stats. we're working, baby. >> mike: season ending for the
texans, continuing for the >> mike: 30-0 here. in the history of the nfl postseason, these are the only 30-plus road shutout wins. there was a famous game in 1940, the baltimore colts against the browns. in 1968 the third time that
would happen if the score holds up. 30-0. most of the 70,000 plus are gone except for the chiefs fans wearing red. a lot of texans fans showed up in their red as well. that '73 game washington had a
touchdown dropped. that would have held and impacted the game and he said well, then we would have lost 73-7 instead of 73-0. >> jon: you look at andy reid and his coaching staff. i really put a premium on coaching as an ex-coach.
what a staff he has assembled we talked about doug pederson, his offensive coordinator, rumored to be a hot head coaching candidate. bob sutton, his defensive coordinator. emmitt thomas, secondary coach. how about dave toub, special
teams today. kickoff returned for a three punts inside the 20. seven touchbacks. they get it done in the meeting room with their coaching too. >> mike: take two knees and close this out. let's talk about houston here
for a moment. they're going to play a fist place schedule. they're going to play the bengals and patriots next year. they'll play kansas city again. they'll be in the market for a quarterback, no doubt about it, in their offseason.
now a look ahead for kansas city as bill o'brien's season will end 9-7, first playoff game. but what about the chiefs going forward either to denver or to new england next weekend? >> jon: big loss in jeremy you lose jamaal charles and potentially jeremy maclin,
that's a big bite out of your skill on offense, but over the last 13 games, mike, with this included, they have given up less than 12 points a game. you can ride that a long way, and andy reid knows it. >> mike: trips to houston have been good for the kansas city
teams in this great sports year, in that wonderful city. world series champ royals beat the astros in a memorable game here and a playoff shutout for andy reid and the chiefs over 30-0 here today. alex smith gets a second playoff win and he's standing by with
lisa salters. >> lisa: thank you, mike. alex, in the second half you guys really started to make it look easy. what came together and started working in the second half? >> i think a little bit just kind of identifying how they
were going to play us. a lot of unknowns. it's been a long time sips last time we played them and just trying to see how they were going to treat some of our formations and personnel. i think we got some of that ironed out at halftime and came
out and made some adjustments. >> lisa: what impact did that opening kickoff return have on jump starting everything? >> you never expect to start a game like that. we feel like we can play three phases of football, all three phases coming out and really
giving us a kick start. >> lisa: now, you're moving on but it could be without jeremy your thoughts on that. >> we'll find out, you know, i'm sure. but obviously he's a huge player, tremendous player for us outside.
any time a guy like that goes down, it's hard. it's hard. he's such a leader for us on and off the field. we'll see, though, right now we don't know. >> lisa: that's 11 consecutive wins after starting 1-5.
what is going on with this team? >> i think it's just everything. it's hard to explain. you know, a little bit like i said, i think it comes down to three phases of football. we've got high character guys that put in the time and sacrifice.
>> lisa: thank you very much. congratulations on the win. mike, back to you. >> mike: thanks, lisa, great number one overall pick alex smith, andy reid and they're chopping their way through the last eight in the nfl playoffs. kansas city is moving on.
he gets a kiss from his wife, tammy. 30-0 our final score here. stay tuned for the postgame
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