Kansas City Chiefs move one step closer to Super Bowl return

Kansas City Chiefs kept their bid for three straight Super Bowl titles alive as they beat the Houston Texans 23-14 in the divisional round of the play-offs.

In the NFC, the Washington Commanders surprised top seeds Detroit Lions 45-31 to book their place in the Conference Championship.

Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce with a touchdown pass to give the Chiefs breathing room in the fourth quarter and their defence kept the Texans at bay in the closing minutes.

The win clinched a seventh successive AFC Championship game appearance for the Chiefs and saw coach Andy Reid become only the fourth coach to win 400 games in the NFL.

Mahomes, who threw for 177 yards and a touchdown, also matched Joe Montana with 16 play-off wins, second only to Tom Brady among quarterbacks.

They will face the Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens as they look to become the first back-to-back champions to return to the Super Bowl.

Two Harrison Butker field goals, either side of a reply from Ka’imi Fairbairn, opened a 6-3 lead in the first quarter which was stretched when Kareem Hunt ran for a touchdown from a yard out.

Fairbairn cut the gap with a field goal before half-time but missed an extra point to tie the game in the third quarter after Joe Mixon’s 13-yard touchdown run. Fairbairn also missed a field goal attempt from 55 yards and had a late effort blocked.

Despite being tackled and falling, Mahomes found Kelce from 11 yards as the Chiefs eased ahead in the final quarter, Butker stretching the advantage with another field goal before they conceded a late safety to leave the Texans with no time to respond.

Quarterback CJ Stroud threw for 245 yards, but was sacked eight times as the Texans’ search for a divisional-round win continued.

The Commanders, who won just four games last season, upset the Lions as they clinched the franchise’s first NFC Conference Championship appearance since winning the Super Bowl 33 years ago.

Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels threw for two touchdowns – a 58-yard effort to Terry McLaurin and from five yards to Zach Ertz – and 299 yards without turning the ball over.

In contrast, opposite number Jared Goff threw three interceptions, as well as losing a fumble.

One of his interceptions was returned 40 yards for a touchdown by Quan Martin to give the Commanders a 10-point lead in the second quarter – the highest-scoring quarter in play-off history.

The Commanders started the second half 31-21 ahead, Jahmyr Gibbs cutting the gap with his second rushing touchdown before Brian Robinson replied with his second score.

Jeremy McNichols stretched the advantage with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the quarter and the Lions were only able to muster a Jake Bates field goal as their search for a first Super Bowl appearance continues.

Washington will face divisional rivals the Philadelphia Eagles or the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship match.