As the Texans shot to a 24–0 lead over the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoff Round, wideout DeAndre Hopkins stalked the sideline. Do not get complacent, he warned teammates, knowing that Patrick Mahomes would continue to sling passes, that Kansas City entered the game as Super Bowl favorites.
Then, a football apocalypse. The wild scores, the wilder bounces, the disastrous fourth-down playcall, the countless “this game is drunk” tweets and, of course, the Chiefs’ epic comeback. But that’s not what Hopkins will remember about that afternoon. He’ll remember the shot he took to the midsection in the second quarter, the one that took his breath away, that required X-rays at halftime, that tore cartilage in his ribs.