KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Let this be remembered as the day the relentlessly creative history of Kansas City Chiefs playoff failures attempted to baptize Patrick Mahomes as its own.
Let this be remembered as the day the franchise with a postseason criminal rap sheet 50 years long nearly had an all-timer.
Let this be remembered as the day Mahomes and the Chiefs saw those ghosts, felt those ghosts, and then stepped through those ghosts in an unforgettable and historic comeback win over the Houston Texans in an AFC Divisional Round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday.
Mahomes is a legend.
That's been the destination of his career since the beginning, and he'll need a Super Bowl championship to completely vanquish any remaining doubt, but this is a pretty clear moment.
The franchise that claimed the second-biggest blown lead in NFL playoff history a few months before it drafted Mahomes now owns the third-biggest comeback in playoff history.
A thousand things had to go their way, of course, including a bafflingly stupid call by Texans coach Bill O'Brien to fake a second-quarter punt, but the Chiefs were able to do this because they employ Mahomes.
Before today, according to Warren Sharp's research, teams that trailed by 21 points after the first quarter lost 135 of 143 times, including all six in the playoffs. They lost by an average of 39 points.
The Chiefs responded with three touchdowns in 3 minutes, 21 seconds, the beginning of 41 unanswered points. You would not have had a more surprising twist if Andy Reid coached the second half on horseback.
Mahomes led one of the NFL's greatest playoff comebacks of all-time by becoming the first playoff quarterback of all-time with 300 yards passing, five touchdowns and 50 yards rushing.
This one will be in his career's montage.
Let us not forget how cooked the Chiefs made themselves by the end of that first quarter. Chris Jones, the star defensive tackle, was a mildly surprising game-time scratch with a calf injury suffered in Thursday's practice. As a prelude to doom, you could've done worse.
Then it got worse. A blown coverage touchdown on the Texans' first drive, Travis Kelce dropping a wide-open third-down pass on the Chiefs' first drive, and a blocked punt for another Texans touchdown.
Then it got much worse. Another drop on third down, a fumbled punt return by Tyreek Hill, another Texans touchdown.
The Chiefs' mojo first peeked its timid head above ground when Mecole Hardman returned a kickoff 58 yards. Then Mahomes found Kelce for a big gain, and then made a perfectly placed throw three steps before Damien Williams turned around for the Chiefs' first touchdown.
From that moment, the Texans stupidly faked a punt, a play that Daniel Sorensen stuffed, and then the Chiefs ripped apart some man coverage _ first with a 28-yard pass-interference penalty on Lonnie Johnson covering Kelce and then when Mahomes extended a play from the 5 long enough to sidearm another touchdown toss.
Mahomes' celebration of that score lasted approximately 28 seconds and covered approximately 42 yards.
Then things got worse for the Texans. Much worse.
Sorensen forced a fumble on the kickoff return and KC scored another touchdown as Mahomes extended a play to his right, and that was about the moment you could see where this one was headed.
The Texans had the Chiefs beat, and they blew it.
The Chiefs had one of playoff history's worst losses closing in on them, and they escaped.
You can believe in fate, or not, but this Chiefs team is riding a wave _ the offense is healthy, finally, Jones would presumably be OK with another week of rest, and they'll be a solid betting favorite at home in the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans.
The buildup to next Sunday's game will be full of more ghosts, because the Titans beat the Chiefs with 225 rushing yards in November. Reid is 1-8 all-time against them, including a blown 21-3 playoff lead three years ago.
They are the only team he has not beaten twice, and Derrick Henry's Jim Brown impersonation would appear to be a particularly rotten matchup.
These will be days filled with nerves, confidence, fear, joy and everything in between. But if you think sports sometimes operate according to forces beyond talent and strategy, it has to feel like something real happened here today.
The franchise that has lost playoff games when the kicker missed three times, when the quarterback none of the players believed in showed why, when the other quarterback threw a touchdown to himself, when a fumble bounced off a helmet and turned into a touchdown, when the game-sealing interception was wiped out by an offsides penalty ... when THAT franchise is dragged up from the dead by its new superhuman quarterback, well, look.
How can you not believe something special is happening?
