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Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs roared back from a 24-point deficit to beat the Houston Texans 51-31 in Sunday's AFC divisional round game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes and the high-flying Chiefs reeled off 41 consecutive points to reach the AFC Championship Game. It was the most unanswered points in a postseason game since the New York Jets posted 41 against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2002 wild-card round.
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Kansas City will play the Tennessee Titans next Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami. The No. 6 seed Titans stunned Lamar Jackson and the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night.
Mahomes completed 23-of-35 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns. He also led the Chiefs with 53 rushing yards on seven carries.
Chiefs tailback Damien Williams had 12 carries for 47 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He added two receptions for 21 yards and a receiving score. Tight end Travis Kelce finished with 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
The Texans jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter after a series of miscues by the Chiefs. Deshaun Watson connected with receiver Kenny Stills for an easy 54-yard touchdown after a blown assignment by Kansas City's defense.
Less than two minutes later, Texans defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown. Late in the first quarter, Chiefs return man Tyreek Hill muffed a Bryan Anger punt deep in Kansas City territory, leading to a 4-yard touchdown from Watson to tight end Darren Fells.
Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn converted a 31-yard field goal attempt, giving Houston its 24-0 lead with 10:54 left in the second quarter.
From that point forward, the Chiefs' offense revved up and rattled off 28 unanswered points to take a 28-24 halftime lead. Mahomes closed the first half with four touchdown passes, including three scoring strikes to Kelce in a span of about eight minutes.
The Chiefs continued their offensive outburst in the third quarter with two touchdown runs from Williams. His 5-yard scoring run, his third of the game, gave Kansas City a 41-24 advantage late in the third frame.
Watson scored the Texans' first touchdown since the first quarter on a 5-yard run with 24 seconds left in the third quarter to make it a 10-point game. Mahomes responded with his fifth touchdown pass of the contest early in the fourth quarter and Harrison Butker drilled a 24-yard kick to punch the Chiefs' ticket to the AFC title game.
Watson completed 31-of-52 throws for 388 yards and two touchdowns. He added six carries for 37 yards and one rushing score.
DeAndre Hopkins recorded nine receptions for 118 yards. Carlos Hyde tallied a team-high 44 rushing yards on 13 carries.
