KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs cobbled together an 11-game win streak that included their first playoff triumph in 22 years by using backups, third-stringers and a whole lot of scotch tape.

To keep it going, they may have to be resourceful again.

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin had an MRI on Sunday that showed his right ACL was intact, but revealed a sprained ankle sustained in the Chiefs’ 30-0 romp in Houston.

While the severity of the ankle injury was unknown, it is unlikely Maclin will be available for Sunday’s divisional game in New England.

“I hate to jump conclusions, or jump ahead. Let me just gather the information,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Right now I’m telling you most of his pain is in his ankle, more than his knee.”

The Chiefs initially feared that Maclin had hurt his knee ligament, which he’s twice had surgically repaired. That it was an ankle injury provides some hope he’ll play again in the playoffs.

Maclin missed a game against Pittsburgh earlier this season with a concussion, and rookie Chris Conley had six receptions in his place. Conley also replaced him for the remainder of the Houston game, and caught a touchdown pass on a play that was designed with Maclin in mind.

Conley had six receptions in that Steelers game, which started the Chiefs’ 11-game win streak.

“I was proud of him for stepping in,” said Reid, who believes Conley is better equipped to take over the job now than he was in Week 7. “I think we’re OK there.”

Perhaps they are OK. But without Maclin, they would lose by far their top downfield threat.

The veteran had 87 receptions for 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns this season, while Conley managed just 17 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Maclin’s absence would also deprive Alex Smith of his biggest safety blanket. Whenever things go awry, the Chiefs quarterback has a tendency to look in Maclin’s direction.

“It’s not just down to his physical talents. He rubs off on everybody,” Smith said, “the competitor he is, what he brings on game day, that energy. Everybody kind of feeds off that. We’ll find out what it is, but certainly playing without him is tough. He brings a lot.”

Yet playing without key players has become one of the hallmarks of this team.

They lost electrifying running back Jamaal Charles to a season-ending knee injury in Week 5, and journeymen Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware filled in admirably.

When pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali went down, Dee Ford and Frank Zombo kept things together in their absence. Ditto for injuries to nickel back Philip Gaines and a litany of offensive linemen that have gone done.

Among them have been center Mitch Morse, who missed Saturday’s game with a concussion, and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who sustained a concussion during the game.

“You hope you have depth there. That’s why I keep coming back to the job (general manager) John Dorsey has done,” Reid said. “There are going to be injuries, and so guys have got to step up.”

Reid pointed to Conley’s touchdown reception as a perfect example. The play itself was new, and only Maclin had practiced it.

But when he got hurt, Reid called the play for Conley anyway, and Smith hit the rookie wide receiver with a strike between a couple of defenders.

“He stepped in and did a nice job basically from watching,” Reid said.

That may be the only silver lining to Maclin’s injury. If he’s unable to play in New England, at least Conley will have an entire week of practice time to prepare.

“We all kind of have to pick it up,” Smith said. “With a guy like that, when he’s not playing, when he’s missing, we’ve all got to pick up the slack. I don’t think it’s any one person.”

— Associated Press —

HOUSTON (AP) — After 22 years without a playoff victory, the Kansas City Chiefs were determined not to give up the lead this time.

The Chiefs had enough points to win after jumping ahead 7-0 in the first 11 seconds, and they used relentless pressure, five turnovers and a ball-control offense to dominate the Houston Texans 30-0 in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

They were especially cognizant of not letting up after blowing a 28-point lead in a loss to the Colts in their last playoff appearance in 2013.

“What happened to us a couple years ago, everybody remembers that even the coaches included, so our entire mentality is about finishing,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “The mentality doesn’t change.”

They finished off the Texans early, and they had the hometown fans booing by the second quarter. Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer had the worst game of his career with four interceptions and a fumble. Houston’s defense kept the Texans close in the first half, but J.J. Watt left with an injury in the third quarter, Jadeveon Clowney never even put on his jersey and the Chiefs were able to close the game out in the second half.

The Chiefs extended their NFL-best winning streak to 11 games and will face Denver or New England next week.

“We wanted to come in and dominate,” Chiefs safety Eric Berry said. “Right now we are locked in and ready for next week.

On the opening kickoff, Knile Davis got three good blocks around the 10-yard line and then simply outran the rest of the defenders for the 106-yard kickoff return score, the second-longest kickoff return TD in postseason history.

“It was a huge deal, man. It set the tempo,” Davis said. “It quieted everybody, kind of made everybody relax.”

The defense took over after that, forcing Hoyer into a fumble and a three of his career-high four interceptions before halftime to help the Chiefs (12-5) take a 13-0 lead.

“I made some bad decisions that really hurt the team,” Hoyer said.

Houston coach Bill O’Brien said he never considered benching Hoyer, but backup Brandon Weeden told a different story, saying he was warming up late in the game.

“We had talked about me going in there with Brian,” Weeden said. “Brian wanted to finish the thing out. I don’t blame him.”

Smith threw a touchdown pass late in the third and Spencer Ware added a 5-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 27-0.

Travis Kelce, who also had more than 100 yards receiving in the first meeting with the Texans this year, had another big day, finishing with eight receptions for 128 yards.

The victory breaks a streak of eight straight playoff losses by the Chiefs and is their first postseason win since beating the Oilers in Houston on Jan. 16, 1994. That team was led by Joe Montana and Marcus Allen.

“Was it 1994? I didn’t feel it, but I know how important it is, too,” coach Andy Reid said. “You get to the playoffs, and first round, if things don’t go well, that rips your heart out.”

Hoyer was 15 of 34 for 136 yards as Houston (9-8) lost a home playoff game for the first time. Hoyer’s performance cast more doubt on his future as the starter.

Watt missed most of the second half after injuring his groin in the third quarter. Last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and the NFL sack leader didn’t have a sack as Houston’s defense played well but couldn’t hold off an offense that got so many extra chances because of turnovers.

Watt returned a few plays after he was initially hurt, but soon left the game again when he was pushed to the ground by the head by tackle Eric Fisher.

“That’s just a dirty play,” Watt said. “But the injury was before that moment.”

Fisher said he didn’t know the play was over. Kansas City receiver Jeremy Maclin strained his right knee on the same play and didn’t return.

The Chiefs capped that drive when Smith found rookie Chris Conley in the back of the end zone for 9-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 20-0.

Houston defensive end Jared Crick got a personal foul late in the third quarter when he hit Fisher after a play, in an apparent retaliation for the Watt hit.

Down 7-0, the Texans were driving when Hoyer was sacked by Allen Bailey and fumbled. Dontari Poe recovered it at the Kansas City 42 and the Chiefs extended their lead to 10-0 on a 49-yard field goal.

Trailing 13-0, a 49-yard run by Alfred Blue got Houston to the Kansas City 13. The Texans got a first down at the 2 and Watt and defensive tackle Vince Wilfork came in on offense, with Watt lined up as the wildcat quarterback and Wilfork blocking. Watt took the direct snap but had nowhere to go and lost a yard on his first career carry. Hoyer was intercepted on the next play by Josh Mauga.

Hoyer had also struggled against the Chiefs in the season opener, being benched in the fourth quarter of a 27-20 loss.

Game notes
Clowney, the top overall pick in the 2014 draft, was inactive with a foot injury. … Maclin will have an MRI on Sunday. … Kansas City right tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a concussion in the first half.

— Associated Press —