Many people are picking on the Kansas City Chiefs as the team seeks a three-peat. Patrick Mahomes would like to silence the naysayers. 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 meet the Chiefs for the second time in a month. They played Dec. 21 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 this time be the same? Or will the Texans pull off the upset? The Chiefs’ X-factor may have something to say about it. And that player is …

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce ready to rock

Let’s visit the elephant in the room. Kelce, 35, is old by NFL standards. His body has the wear and tear of 1,004 career receptions.

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

Kelce bristled at the notion the Chiefs would fear the Bengals. He said he’s ready for anyone, according to espn.com

“I want to slay 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 play the lowest seed. Just give me the best teams. AFC, NFC, give me all of them, Mortal Kombat-style. I ain’t scared of a single soul, man. I’ll play them at the Walmart parking lot. We can have our own game in the offseason where we really duke it out.”

Childish? Perhaps. But Kelce at least showed he still has the fire to win. This three-peat chase apparently has him torqued up.

And when the Chiefs get into a tough spot, in a game where they face elimination and their dream ending, Mahomes will look to Kelce often. The Chiefs will scheme 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. A savvy veteran generally has an advantage in these situations. Andy Reid said the Chiefs do indeed know their opponents, according to chiefswire.com.

“We actually have played, which is crazy, but we’ve played all the teams that are in the playoffs,” said Reid. “You have to go back, though; you can’t be content with that, so the four teams that we have a chance to potentially play in a couple of weeks here, we’ve tried to hammer those out, and we’re going to continue to do that until we find out what the results are probably Sunday night, somewhere in that area, or at least late afternoon I would imagine.

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

Another thing that helps Kelce is Reid’s approach to this postseason, according to athlonsports.com. Reid used the starting offense against the starting defense in practice.

“These are all competitive guys,” Reid said. “But put the ones out there against each other, they really get competitive. That’s kind of a fun thing to be a part of. It’s good for the guys. It’s good to get caught up like that on the speed part of it.

“It is single elimination. That’s easier said than putting that in your brain and getting yourself right for every snap that you have at practice to practice hard and aggressive with. You’ve just gotta make sure you really stay focused and don’t let distractions in there the best you can.”

Also, Kelce is rested, as are the other Chiefs, from the bye week. Reid said the running backs will benefit the most, according to the Chiefs YouTube page via athlonsports.com. But it helps Kelce, too.

“That’s a tough position, you take a beating at that position,” Reid said. “I think this period of time, the rest period, it benefits a lot of people. But those running backs, that’s a good time for recovery. I think they were smart with it, all the guys have been working out so they’re chomping at the bit to get going. So that’s kind of how you want it. They knew that this bye was going to be different than your in-season bye. And they’ve all been in working and doing their thing.”