After the Kansas City Chiefs got a well-deserved bye week in the NFL's Wild Card Round of the postseason, they will be well-rested going into their first playoff matchup of the year.
The AFC's no. 1 overall seed sat and watched over the weekend as they learned who their opponent will be come this weekend. And, as it turns out, the Chiefs will indeed be hosting the Houston Texans.
After the Texans completely embarrassed the Las Angeles Chargers on Saturday afternoon, they'll get ready for a much bigger test in the reigning two-time champs. The Chiefs already met the Texans once this past season, as they defeated Houston 27-19 just a few weeks ago.
Now, the Texans are feeling themselves after a postseason statement in the Wild Card Round but will have to get ready for a much more difficult task, and on the road. The Texans did have a little extra motivation going into their matchup with the Chargers, as former NFL head coach Rex Ryan called Houston a "playoff bye week" for Los Angeles.
Of course, the Texans didn't take too kindly to those words and seemed to use them as more fuel to their postseason fire.
Houston is going to need all the extra motivation they can get, too, as they are now the next opponent standing in the way of a three-peat for Kansas City.
When do the Chiefs and Texans play in the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs?
Date: Saturday Jan. 18
Time: 4:30pm ET
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
TV: ESPN/ABC
Streaming: ESPN+
The opening odds for the Divisional Round currently have the Chiefs as a -7.5 favorite at home, which is a huge margin, especially for a second round playoff game.
The over/under is set at 41.5, which seems like a relatively low number and right on par for teams looking to lean on their defenses.
Speaking of defense, the Texans defense did a number on Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense, picking off the quarterback a whopping four times. DeMeco Ryans had his defense ready to go, but in this matchup with the Chiefs, they face a more seasoned offense led by Patrick Mahomes.
Not to mention, the Chiefs defense continues to fly under the radar of the average NFL fan. Kansas City ended the regular season with the league's fourth-best scoring defense, of course, and there's definitely a reason why Steve Spagnuolo is getting some head coaching buzz this cycle.
It's Stroud. It's Mahomes. It's Saturday afternoon, Chiefs Kingdom. Who's ready?