Kansas City Chiefs dominate Houston Texans in primetime
By Matt Conner
Another primetime appearance meant another opportunity to dominate an opponent for the Kansas City Chiefs as they beat the Houston Texans.
It didn’t take long for the Kansas City Chiefs to look like they were in complete control despite playing in primetime on the road. The Houston Texans might have looked like they kept things relatively close throughout Sunday’s contest, but that was largely the Chiefs willingness to settle for field goals over anything else in the team’s 42-34 win over Houston.
The Chiefs went up early and never looked back with Harrison Butker kicking four field goals and Alex Smith throwing three touchdown passes and looking every bit like an MVP candidate. Smith completed 29 of 37 passes for 324 passing yards along with the touchdowns. He also avoided throwing any interceptions.
Smith looked exceptional on the night, converting long third down opportunities all night long—going 9 of 16 on third down. He also completed 10-yard passes (or more) to 9 different receivers, showing just how capable he is at running this offense.
While it wasn’t his best performance by a longshot, Kareem Hunt still proved himself to be a dependable back upon which the Chiefs can rely to round out the offense. The Texans played the run very well tonight, especially in the first half, and it forced the Chiefs to resort to the passing game. Unfortunately for Houston, Smith made them pay, but Hunt did rush for over 100 yards on the night, giving him
More from Arrowhead Addict
- Former Chiefs cornerback in legal trouble in Las Vegas
- Chiefs Kingdom: Get ready to break contract news
- Chiefs news: Travis Kelce wants to host fan ‘chug-off’ in Germany
- Podcast: Breaking down the Chiefs biggest roster battles
- KC Chiefs send Dave Merritt to NFL coaching accelerator
Unfortunately the Texans defense was neutered from the outset as both Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt were lost for the game. Watt in particular is expected to be out for the rest of the season with a fractured tibia. That said, the Chiefs also suffered some injuries with tight end Travis Kelce entering the concussion protocol and not returning after halftime and Steven Terrell, who also had a concussion on the opening play of the game.
As for the Texans, the bright spot remains the big-play ability of rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson who made eye-opening throws on multiple occasions to keep the Texans within reach. It also didn’t hurt that the Chiefs were settling for field goals on multiple drives. Still in the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome a very deep and talented Chiefs team that remains the only undefeated team in the NFL.
The Chiefs next head back home to Arrowhead Stadium to host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a rematch of the team’s loss at Arrowhead from last January when they were knocked out of the playoffs.