Chiefs seal 7th straight AFC Championship appearance thanks to Dave Toub masterclass

What a performance from the Chiefs special teams (and/or a meltdown from the Texans special teams)!

Las Vegas Raiders v Kansas City Chiefs
Las Vegas Raiders v Kansas City Chiefs | David Eulitt/GettyImages

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving onto their seventh straight AFC title game after defeating the Houston Texans by a score of 23 to 14. While football is a team sport, it's hard not to give Dave Toub and the Chiefs special teams unit a major shout-out.

Right from the word "go", the special teams got off to a dominant start, as kick returner Nikko Remigio ran the ball back 63 yards and immediately put the Chiefs in the red zone. While that possession didn't end in a touchdown, a field goal was still on the board, giving K.C. an early three-point lead.

The other big moment for the Chiefs' special teams was when the Texans were trying their best to claw their way back into the game and had to settle for a field goal with under two minutes left in regulation. With Ka'imi Fairbairn trying to get the Texans to within a touchdown, Leo Chenal once again stepped up and blocked the kick, essentially icing the game.

This wasn't the first time that Chenal had a game-sealing blocked field goal, as he pulled this exact same feat off back in November when the Broncos were trying to kick a field goal in the final seconds. Chenal blocked it, the Chiefs held on, and fans went nuts. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Chiefs special teams deserves a game ball for their efforts in divisional round

On the other side of the field, the Texans special teams unit completely melted down. We already discussed how the Chiefs had that big return on the first play of the game and then Fairbairn's field goal was blocked in the final minutes.

Well, Fairbairn had a rough day at the office. The Texans long-time kicker also missed a field goal attempt and an extra-point attempt. In other words, he cost his team an entire touchdown worth of points. The Chiefs won by nine points (though they were up by 11 in the final minute but took a safety to help kill more time off the clock) and an extra seven points from the Texans would have made this a completely different game.

Fortunately, the Chiefs special teams once again showed up and while the players deserve a ton of credit there, Dave Toub also deserves a round of applause. Toub has been the Chiefs special teams coordinator for the entirety of Andy Reid's Chiefs tenure and this game shows why that's the case.

Onto the AFC Championship Game once again.

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