Chiefs offensive line dominates and other overlooked aspects of Week 1

The Chiefs struggle against the run

Not all of these storylines are positive.

The Chiefs gave up 118 yards rushing on only 22 rushing attempts which leads to an average of 5.4 yards per carry—77 yards of that went to David Johnson. Duke Johnson picked up 14 more yards and then 27 was credited to Deshaun Watson.

The heart of the defensive line was dominated by the Texans offensive line at times, especially early, which gave Johnson space to slip and slide into the end zone when the run was still a viable option for the Texans. Later in the game, when the Texans had all but forgotten they have running backs on the roster, the linebackers failed to contain Deshaun Watson, which allowed him to run free and grab yards on the outside. This is without mentioning the missed tackles that plagued the linebacker group, although that may have had a larger impact on the screen game than the ground game.

The Chiefs gave up 96 yards per game in 2019, although that number may not necessarily be telling of how the Chiefs struggled against the run. Through the first six weeks of 2019, the Chiefs gave up about 161.8 yards rushing per game. If you remove the Week 15 snow game against the Broncos (52 rushing yards allowed), the Chiefs allowed an average of 133.2 yards per game on the year.

With Khalen Saunders out for an indefinite amount of time and Mike Pennel suspended until Week 3 and then working his way back, this could be a much larger issue when the Chiefs play the run-heavy offenses in Baltimore (Week 3), and New England (Week 4).