Karlaftis got his first sack on such a play, roaring around the edge past tight end Dalton Schultz on a fourth-and-10 before corralling a dancing Stroud in the pocket.
“When you get a sack, it’s a big thing, it’s a big deal — both as a play and as a stat, but also for the morale,” Karlaftis said. “When multiple guys are able to do that, when you have 8.0 sacks, that usually gives you a pretty good chance to win.”
Two Texans possessions later, with Kansas City’s lead having swelled once more to 23-12, Karlaftis began and ended Houston’s final drive with his other sacks. Chamarri Conner and Felix Anudike-Uzomah joined the party, too, giving the team six different players to log a sack along with Chris Jones, Tershawn Wharton and Charles Omenihu earlier in the contest.
It was Karlaftis’ final one, though, done in back-to-back tandem with Anudike-Uzomah’s, that stalled yet another prolonged march by Houston at Kansas City’s 17-yard line. The Texans attempted a field goal just under the two-minute warning to make it a one-possession game, only to see the try blocked by Leo Chenal.
Thus ended any further dramatics, the Texans having been vanquished with just 12 offensive points despite venturing to or beyond the Chiefs’ 40-yard line on six of eight drives (not counting a kneel-down).
The only points Kansas City allowed to Houston after things became tenuous at 13-12 was a safety in which punter Matt Araiza eventually gave himself up as part of a time-wasting effort.
The victory marked the Chiefs’ 16th this season without eclipsing 30 points and 10th holding an opponent under 20.
It’s been an approach that has generated countless close games and required individuals such as Karlaftis to take turns stepping up, along the way fueling doubt over whether such risky living can result in a championship.
Now with only two more games in the way of proving it will, Mahomes has every faith in Kansas City’s process.
“Everybody’s winners on this team and I think that’s what makes us special,” he said. “So, it doesn’t always have to be an offensive explosion, it doesn’t always have to be the defense locking it down, it’s just who can find a way to get a win and how can we do that? I think that’s what makes us a special football team and we’ll try to carry that into next week.”
