Unsung ‘D’ carries the day for Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs’ defense had heard the chorus of critics all season long, the ones that claimed their sievelike line and shaky backfield would spoil young superstar Patrick Mahomes and cost them a chance to chase their first Super Bowl appearance in decades.

Well, that defense is a big reason why the Chiefs are one step away.

With persistent snow turning Arrowhead Stadium into a winter wonderland, the Chiefs successfully shut down Andrew Luck and the potent Colts on Saturday.

Mahomes and the rest of their high-powered offense took care of the rest, rolling to a 31-13 victory in the divisional round to end 25 years of playoff frustration.

“We’re such a different team,” said Mahomes, who threw for 278 yards and ran for a score. “We have such young players. We have such confidence we’re going to win every single game.”

Damien Williams ran through snow and muck for 129 yards and another score, and Tyreek Hill had 72 yards receiving and a touchdown run as the Chiefs beat the Colts for the first time in five playoff meetings to earn their first AFC title game appearance since January 1994.

The AFC West champions will play the winner of the game Sunday between the division-rival Chargers and the Patriots next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl in Atlanta.

“We wanted to light up the city,” Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones said. “We didn’t want to take the road down memory lane.”

Luck was held to 203 yards passing, and Marlon Mack was a non-factor on the ground. He had 46 yards rushing before leaving the game with a hip injury.

“Was not expecting it to end today,” Colts coach Frank Reich

said. “It’s hard to lose when you’ve come this far with the team that we have and the guys that we have, so credit to the Chiefs.

“They outcoached us, they outplayed us. We just gave them too many opportunities.”

The Chiefs set out to change history from the opening minutes, when they forced a threeand-out and then waltzed right over a defense that nearly shut out the Texans a week ago. They scored on their first three possessions, then again just before the half, to take a 24-7 lead.