KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes picked apart the Colts in his postseason debut, the Chiefs defense answered their chorus of critics with a stout performance, and Kansas City rolled to a 31-13 victory over Indianapolis in the divisional round Saturday to end 25 years of playoff frustration.
Mahomes threw for 278 yards while running for a touchdown, and Damien Williams ran for 129 yards and another score, as the Chiefs beat Indianapolis for the first time in five playoff meetings to earn their first AFC title game appearance since January 1994.

The AFC West champions will play the winner of Sunday’s game between the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots next weekend for a spot in the Super Bowl in Atlanta. Andrew Luck was held to 203 yards passing for the Colts, while Marlon Mack was a non-factor on the ground. He had 46 yards rushing before leaving late in the fourth quarter with a hip injury.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid was summoned to the corner of Arrowhead Stadium during Saturday’s game, to get fans to stop throwing snowballs on the field. Reid wasn’t happy about it, either. The officials called him over from the Kansas City sideline during the two-minute warning in the first half, and Reid shouted and gestured at the fans in the lower deck — though the snowballs were mostly raining down from the upper deck, far above the field.

Earlier in the half, one almost hit Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez during a kick. Reid’s intervention didn’t do much good, either. Patrick Mahomes scampered in moments later to give the Colts a 24-7 lead, and snowballs fell like confetti from the upper deck.