The Kansas City Chiefs traveled to Houston for what has become their annual meeting with the Texans.
The Chiefs have dominated in NRG stadium recently but Sunday was a much better team than in the past. The Texans upgraded in a big way at quarterback by adding Brock Osweiler and having JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney healthy definitely makes this team much better. Because of that, the Texans can now put less pressure on their own offense and let the defense win games. Alex Smith was pressured all game and could not get the ball to his playmakers.
The Texans front seven is what the Chiefs hoped they would have had if Justin Houston were healthy. Instead they have Dee Ford who, to be fair, played much better than in recent games. However, he still isn’t the force that the Chiefs need off the edge and Osweiler had all day to throw in the first half. Once the second half hit they were able to limit the Texans offense. However they stayed on the field too long thanks to an ineffective offense.
Overall the Chiefs lost to a solid Texans team who should win the AFC South for the second season in a row. This shouldn’t send them into a tailspin. There are things to take from this game moving forward as the Chiefs face the New York Jets at home next week.