Knile Davis of the Kansas City Chiefs returns the opening...

Knile Davis of the Kansas City Chiefs returns the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown against the Houston Texans in AFC wild-card playoff game at NRG Stadium on Jan. 9, 2016 in Houston, Texas. Credit: Getty Images / Thomas B. Shea

HOUSTON — Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith, who had arguably his best season in 2015, wasn’t spectacular Saturday and didn’t put up big numbers at NRG Stadium. But his counterpart, Brian Hoyer, would have loved to have had the game Smith put together.

As efficient as Smith was, he had plenty of help from the Chiefs’ defense and special teams in a 30-0 win over the Texans in an AFC wild-card playoff game. It was the Chiefs’ 11th straight win after a 1-5 start and ended their futility in playoff games.

Before this game, the Chiefs had not won a playoff game since Jan. 16, 1994, when they beat the Houston Oilers at the Astrodome. Kansas City, which had lost eight straight playoff games, will face the Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Saturday.

The Texans were never in the game in front of a home crowd of 71,800. Houston-area native Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown and Hoyer was responsible for five turnovers, four in the first half.

“Any time a game starts off like that, it’s a difference- maker,” Smith said. “There’s still a lot of game left, but it was big momentum to start us off.”

From start to finish, this was a Kansas City runaway, and it began when Davis scored untouched 11 seconds into the game.

“It was good to set the tempo in my hometown,” Davis said. “When I saw the ball in the air, I saw the coverage. I knew they weren’t on me yet. I was like, this is a good opportunity to do something. And when I left, I saw it split like the Red Sea and I took it to the house.”

And the Chiefs kept rolling after Davis’ score, building a 13-0 halftime advantage and outscoring the Texans 17-0 in the second half.

“The defense was just dominant,” Smith said. “They played lights out. We felt good in all three phases.”

Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown with one interception. “Alex was on point, very focused,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said.

Hoyer, who threw four interceptions and lost a fumble, completed 15 of 34 passes for 136 yards. “I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” he said. “I’ve got to be better than that. I don’t think it had anything to do with nerves.”

Eric Berry, Marcus Peters, Sean Smith and Josh Mauga had interceptions and Dontari Poe recovered a fumble for the Chiefs. Cairo Santos kicked three field goals for Kansas City.

“Our defense put pressure on and made him uncomfortable in the pocket and made him create turnovers,” Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston said.

“It just wasn’t good,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “It’s a combination of having to do a better job of coaching and execution on offense.”

Offensively, the Texans were in a rut and needed to run the ball effectively as well as limit their turnovers. That didn’t happen.

“That’s not how we expected to play,” the Texans’ J.J. Watt said. “We didn’t do enough and they did.”

Alfred Blue put some spark in the Texans’ offense, rumbling 49 yards to the Kansas City 13-yard line with less than six minutes remaining in the first half. Five plays later, Mauga intercepted Hoyer at the 2-yard line.

Nothing worked for the Texans.

The Texans even gave Watt a carry at the Kansas City 2-yard line that resulted in a yard loss. Watt injured his groin in the third quarter and did not return.

HOUSTON — Alex Smith had arguably his best season in 2015. The Kansas City quarterback wasn’t spectacular yesterday and didn’t put up big numbers at NRG Stadium, but his counterpart Brian Hoyer would have loved to have had the game Smith put together.

As efficient as Smith was, he had plenty of help from the Chiefs’ defense and special teams in a dominating 30-0 win over the Texans in an AFC wild-card game. It was the Chiefs’ 11th straight win after a 1-5 start and ended their futility in playoff games.

The Texans were never in the game in front of a home crowd of 71,800. Starting with the opening kickoff that Knile Davis, a Houston-area native, returned 106 yards for a touchdown, and the misfiring of Hoyer, who was responsible for five turnovers — four in the first half.

“Any time a game starts off like that, it’s a difference maker,” Smith said. “There’s still a lot of game left but it was big momentum to start us off.”

And the Chiefs kept rolling after Davis’ score, building a 13-0 halftime advantage and outscoring the Texans 17-0 in the second half.

“The defense was just dominant,” Smith said. “They played lights out. We felt good in all three phases.”

Before yesterday, the Chiefs had not won a playoff game since Jan. 16, 1994, beating the Houston Oilers at the Astrodome. Kansas City had lost eight straight playoff games. In the 2015 season opener, Kansas City defeated Houston 27-20 in this building.

Smith completed 17 of 22 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown with one interception. Tight end Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 128 yards.

“Alex was on point, very focused,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said.

Hoyer, who threw four interceptions and lost a fumble, completed 15 of 34 passes for 136 yards.

“I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” said Hoyer. “I’ve got to be better than that. I don’t think it had anything to do with nerves.”

Eric Berry, Marcus Peters, Sean Smith and Josh Mauga had interceptions and Dontari Poe recovered a fumble for the Chiefs (12-5). And Cairo Santos kicked three field goals for Kansas City, including a pair of 49-yarders.

“Our defense put pressure on him and made him uncomfortable in the pocket and made him create turnovers,” said Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston, who returned after a five-game absence from injury. “The interior guys did a great job. The sky’s the limit. We can only get better.”

“It just wasn’t good,” Texans Coach Bill O’Brien said. “It’s a combination of having to do a better job of coaching and execution on offense.”

Offensively, the Texans were in a rut and needed to run the ball effectively, as well as limit their turnovers, for a chance to beat the streaking Chiefs. That didn’t happen.

“That’s not how we expected to play,” said the Texans’ J.J. Watt. “We didn’t do enough and they did.”

Alfred Blue, who rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries, put some spark in the Texans’ offense, rumbling 49 yards to the Kansas City 13-yard line with under six minutes remaining in the first half. Five player later Mauga intercepted Hoyer, who threw into tight coverage, at the 2-yard line and returned it 20 yards.

From start to finish this was a Kansas City runaway, and it started with Davis’ opening kickoff. Davis scored untouched, and by the time he crossed his 25-yard line, it was clear sailing.

“It was good to set the tempo in my hometown,” Davis said. “When I saw the ball in the air, I saw the coverage. I knew they weren’t on me yet. I was like, this is a good opportunity to do something. And when I left, I saw it split like the Red Sea and I took it to the house.”

Nothing seemed to work for the Texans. The Texans even gave Pro Bowler Watt a carry at the Kansas City 2-yard line that resulted in a yard loss. Watt injured his groin in the third quarter with Houston down 13-0 and did not return.

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