The Kansas City Chiefs came out strong in Week 1 of the 2015 National Football League season and dominated the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium, beating the home team, 27-20. The Chiefs got off to a great start with a interception from first-round pick Marcus Peters, who picked off the first throw of Brian Hoyer’s season.
Kansas City was also able to force a fumble of Hoyer in Houston’s red zone. Both times, the Chiefs were able to put the ball in the end zone, one time with a touchdown to Travis Kelce and another time with a scoring throw to Jamaal Charles.
On defense, Kansas City showed up throughout the game, notching five sacks of Hoyer and getting pressure throughout the last three quarters. Justin Houston notched one of the sacks, along with Jaye Howard and Derrick Johnson. Allen Bailey was a monster and had two.
Three stars
1. Travis Kelce
Kelce brought in two first-half touchdowns and caught six passes for 106 yards doing most of his damage early in the action. Kelce was forced to leave the game early for what appeared to either be a rib injury or having the wind knocked out of him, but Kelce was able to return. On a few plays, Kelce was left to block J.J. Watt one-on-one and actually did a nice job.
2. Alex Smith
There has been plenty of talk about Smith is going to need improvement this year, and he showed that in Week 1. Smith was throwing darts throughout the afternoon and looked very confident in Maclin, throwing both short and long to him all day. Maclin finished with five catches and 52 yards, while narrowing missing some deep shots.
3. Dustin Colquitt
Very rarely does a punter make a the three stars, but Colquitt absolutely deserves to be mentioned. Colquitt consistently put Houston in a tough spot, leaving the Texans inside their own 20-yard line. If you can do that against an offense led by Brian Hoyer, you are likely going to win.
Odds
The game had a line of EVEN, so obviously the Chiefs were able to cover the spread.
Next week
The Chiefs will be home to take on the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, while Houston will travel to play the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon.