Jason Bell
Former NFL cornerback on Sky Sports

You’re going to have to establish the run. And short, crisp passes. You want third down to be manageable

The Texans have played in the Divisional Round five times in their history - they're 0-5 in those games. They're also 0-5 on the road in the play-offs so history is not with them tonight. And it's been a tough start already.

Field goal - Chiefspublished at 21:38 Greenwich Mean Time 18 January

21:38 GMT 18 January

Houston Texans 0-3 Kansas City Chiefs

Wow, breathless start ends with Patrick Mahomes taking a shot to the end zone onf third and 11, but it's way over the receiver so Harrison Butker trots out to kick a 32-yard field goal and put the Chiefs ahead.

Make no mistake though, that's a huge win for Houston after that start.

Patrick Mahomes is a perfect 6-0 at this stage of the play-offs, with some pretty tasty stats under his belt as well - it's a big challenge for this Houston defence tonight.

Huge, huge play for the Chiefs with the kick-off return going 63 yards and almost all the way to the house!

Nikko Remigio it was who twisted and turned his way deep into Houston territory - with then a penalty on the Texans pushing them back to their on 13 already.

Some start from KC.

Houston get us under way with the kick-off so Patrick Mahomes has the ball first.

How many catches for this man tonight?

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Travis Kelce has had one of his worst statistical seasons of his career this season, but he comes alive in the play-offs so expect a big game tonight.

He's only behind the great Jerry Rice in play-off receiving yards and touchdowns.

Image source, Getty Images

Yeah we know, but everyone was asking, so....

Image source, Getty Images

The players are out warming up, and it'll take some doing as it's freezing in Kansas City! Houston play in a dome, how will they cope with these frigid conditions?

Oh, and it's pretty windy too.

If you needed to know why finishing as the top seed is so important, just check out Patrick Mahomes' play-off record at home.

Those two losses have both been in overtime against Tom Brady's Patriots and Joe Burrow's Bengals.

No team in NFL history has ever reached a Super Bowl when chasing a three-peat.

Having won back-to-back Super Bowls, do the Kansas City Chiefs have what it takes to make history?

Let your thumbs do the talking...

Phoebe Schecter
BBC Sport NFL columnist on Sky Sports

He is phenomenal. There’s not many people like Mahomes. He has this undeniable hunger and when he gets to the play-offs he steps it up a gear. It’s easy to drop off after such a long season but he just excels in these moments.

Patrick Mahomes' career trajectory is almost a mirror image of Tom Brady's after eight seasons and, at just 29, the Chiefs quarterback has a great chance of bettering the NFL legend's career.

Mahomes still needs four more Super Bowl wins but if he can play until 45 like Brady he has every chance.

Can he and the Chiefs make it a three-peat this year and a fourth Super Bowl title?

Take a look at this comparison between Brady and Mahomes.

The Houston Texans bullied the Chargers last week, this defence will give the Chiefs all they can handle tonight.

The Texans come into this match-up off the back of a superb defensive showing in the Wildcard round.

The Texans defence picked off Justin Herbert four times on the way to a dominant 32-12 victory; he'd thrown just three during the entire regular season.

While the defensive unit has been among the best in the NFL this year, DeMeco Ryans' team have been less convincing on the other side of the ball.

CJ Stroud hasn't lived up to his impressive rookie season in 2023, though he still managed to lead the Texans to the AFC South title with a 10-7 record.

Beating the Chiefs is a big ask, but if there's one defence that can keep Patrick Mahomes quiet, it's the Texans'.

Image source, Getty Images

Patrick Mahomes has not been slinging it around, he even missed out on the Pro Bowl as Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson got all the MVP shouts - but they could not match his 15 wins.

There was just signs of Mahomes and his offence finding a stride late on too, with Isiah Pacheco back from injury, DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy creating more, and the belated appearance of Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown giving them a huge boost.

The Chiefs leaned on their defence A LOT in the season, and always managed to find ways to win, with last-minute field goals and blocking last-minute field goals among the many different ways they found to get the 'W'.

And that's what it's all about, right? And nobody did it better than the Chiefs this season. When it comes to play-off football, winning is all that matters.

What are we calling this guy? Super Bowl ring head man?

Image source, Getty Images

The Chiefs faced the Texans at Arrowhead in the Divisional Round five years ago in an amazing turnaround game that saw Houston race into an early 24-0 lead witrh Deshaun Watson producing a stunning game at quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes led a stirring comeback though, scoring 28 unanswered points in the second quarter on the way to a 51-31 victory that boosted them on the way to a first Super Bowl of the Mahomes-Andy Reid era.

Something similar tonight would do us, right?

BBC Radio 5 Live

American football reporter Anthony Wootton on BBC Radio 5 Live: "The Kansas City Chiefs lost two games all season and in the final game they didn't play their starters so really, they lost only one game that mattered. But they've won ugly, they've won some very close games, so they've almost flattered to deceive this season.

"But you can't discount them, you can't write them off, because they have that winning instinct that we saw with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It's instinctive and it's embedded in them. They're an exciting team.

"They've got the coach and they've got their star players. Patrick Mahomes is the ultimate sportsman and could eventually overtake Tom Brady as the greatest all-time quarterback."