Chiefs X-factor vs. Texans in 2025 NFL playoffs, and it’s not Patrick Mahomes

Many people are pitching the Kansas City Chiefs as a team he is looking for a three-three. Patrick Mahomes would like to shut up opponents. And with the Texans coming to town for the 2025 NFL playoffs, the Chiefs have an X-factor and it’s not Patrick Mahomes.

Houston will travel to face the Chiefs for the second time in a month. They played on December 21st in a game the Chiefs won 27-19. Mahomes threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, playing in the game with an injured ankle.

Will it be the same this time? Or will the Texans pull off the upset? The Chiefs’ X-Factor might have something to say about that. And that player is…

Let’s visit the elephant in the room. Kelce, 35, is old by NFL standards. His body is worn out like 1,004 career receptions.

But this is a swan song for Kelce. It might not be as fast as it used to be. His speed may have slipped. But his ability to impact the game is still there, and he should step it up in the postseason.

Kelce swollen at the notion the chiefs would fear Bengal. He said he’s ready for anyone, according to espn.com

“I want to kill every dragon one by one, like Mortal Kombat,” Kelce said in an oddly violent reference. “I don’t even want this to be like we’re playing the lowest seed.” Just give me the best teams. AFC, NFC, give me them all, Mortal Kombat style. I don’t fear a single soul, man. I’ll drop them off in the Walmart parking lot. We can have our own game in the offseason where we really win.”

childish? Maybe. But at least Kelce showed he still has the fire to win. This three-peat chase clearly upset him.

And when the Chiefs get into a tough situation, in a game where they face elimination and a dream finish, Mahomes will often look to Kelce. The Chiefs will figure out extra things for Kelce to have big games in the playoffs. They will lean on him.

One thing that should help Kelce is the Chiefs’ familiarity with their opponents. The savvy veteran generally has the upper hand in these situations. Andy Reid said the Chiefs are really doing it they know their opponentsaccording to chiefsvire.com.

“We actually played, which is crazy, but we played all the teams that are in the playoffs,” Reid said. “However, you must return; you can’t be happy with that, so the four teams that we have a chance to potentially play in a couple of weeks here, we’ve tried to get them out, and we’ll continue to do that until we find what the results are probably on Sunday night, somewhere in that area, or at least late afternoon, I guess.

“We’ll figure it out and see where it goes, but we’ll try to be ready for all of them while we have this time, and we’ve tried to use it wisely as a coaching staff.” At the same time, we want to make sure our players are fresh but still sharp.”

Another thing helping Kelce is Reed’s approach this postseason, according to athlonsports.com. Reid took advantage of the opening attack against the starting defense in practice.

“These are all competitive guys,” Reid said. “But you put them against each other, they really get competitive.” That’s kind of fun to be a part of. It’s good for guys. It’s good to get caught up in speed like that.

“It’s single elimination. It’s easier said than done to get it into your brain and correct yourself for every shot you have to practice hard and aggressively with. You just have to make sure you really stay focused and don’t let distractions in there as best you can.”

Also, Kelce is rested, like the other Chiefs, since the bye. Reid said running will benefit the most, according to the Chiefs YouTube page via athlonsports.com. But it helps Kelce too.

“It’s a tough position, you get beat up in that position,” Reed said. “I think this period of time, this period of rest, benefits a lot of people. But those backs, it’s a good time to recover. I think they were smart with that, all the guys were working so they were trying to get going. So that’s kind of what you want. They knew this bye would be different than your season bye. And everyone worked and did their thing.”