Wild Chiefs-Texans first half leads to historic day for NFL record book
The Houston Texans punched the Kansas City Chiefs in the mouth on Sunday, racing out to a 24-0 lead in the second quarter of their AFC divisional playoff matchup.
By halftime, the Chiefs scored four unanswered touchdowns to take a 28-24 lead in a wild, unprecedented half of NFL football en route to their 51-31 win.
In addition being a spectacular show, the game that Kansas City eventually produced some incredible numbers.
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The Chiefs got off to their bleak start thanks to several dropped passes from players like Travis Kelce and Demarcus Robinson.
It was a completely unexpected performance from the usually precise Kansas City offense.
From @ESPNStatsInfo: The Chiefs had 4 drops in the first quarter. They had 4 drops in their previous six games COMBINED.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 12, 2020
Kelce joins HOF tight ends in record book
But after a big third-down drop that led to a blocked punt for a Texans touchdown on the next play, Kelce made up for his early mistake, joining Hall of Fame tight end David Casper and future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski in the NFL record book.
Tight ends with 3 receiving TD in a playoff game since 1950:
• KC Travis Kelce (2019 Div Rd)
• NE Rob Gronkowski (2011 Div Rd)
• HOF David Casper (1977 Div Rd)#Chiefs | @Chiefs | @tkelce— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) January 12, 2020
It’s another remarkable achievement in Kelce’s likely Hall of Fame career.
Kelce’s entry into the playoff record book couldn’t have happened without a remarkable effort from his quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose second quarter elicited memories of one of the great performances in NFL history.
Mahomes channels Doug Williams
Washington quarterback Doug Williams stunned the Denver Broncos in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII with a four-touchdown outburst to rally from a 10-0 deficit en route to a 42-10 victory. Mahomes matched that feat on Sunday, joining Williams as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for four touchdowns in a single postseason quarter.
Patrick Mahomes is the second player in NFL postseason history with four passing touchdowns in a single quarter, joining Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII, per @ESPNStatsInfo
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 12, 2020
Historic halftime rally
By the time Mahomes connected with Kelce for the fourth touchdown of the quarter, the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to take a halftime lead after trailing by 24 points.
The @Chiefs are the first team in @NFL history to lead at halftime after trailing by 24 or more points.
(h/t @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/sil0lcVHqB— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 12, 2020
Unprecedented points
In doing so, the Chiefs had rallied to combine with the Texans for the highest-scoring first half in playoff history.
At 52 combined points, this is the highest-scoring first half in NFL postseason history.
The previous record was 49 in the 2009 NFC Divisional Playoffs (Saints led Cardinals 35-14). pic.twitter.com/PzWf3aZ4qq— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 12, 2020
Fans in Kansas City more than got their money’s worth on Sunday.
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